


A Slice Of Life

by CallMeNettie



Category: Hey Arnold!
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Friendship, Love, Marriage, Memories, Pregnancy, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-02-13 19:19:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 128
Words: 379,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12990792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CallMeNettie/pseuds/CallMeNettie
Summary: Come join us as we peer through the windows of the boarding house, where Arnold and Helga now reside as man and wife, and get a glimpse of what life is like for them as they await the birth of their first child and then deal with the trials of being new parents. Nothing major, nothing earth shattering. Just a small, feel good, slice of life story. Something to read after a hard day at work or school.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this prologue a while back and then put it aside as I worked on my mystery Watcher. (If you haven't yet read it I invite you to do so) I kept coming back to it though, never really knowing where to take it next. I hated to get rid of it because it just seemed like a nice start to a story. So I decided on a slice of life tale and am taking it one day at a time, letting the story guide me as we go along. I do hope you like it, and I’d love to hear your reviews. Needless to say, I own no rights to Hey Arnold.

She sat alone in the small living room of the boarding house. It was early August and hot, so very hot. She wears a lightweight, sleeveless nightgown and her blonde hair is thrown up into a hasty bun, held together with an old pink ribbon. She submerges her swollen feet in a tub of what was, about twenty minutes ago, icy cold water. She lifts one foot out and looks at her bulging ankle. “Criminy”, she thinks to herself, “they’re as big as grapefruits!” She readjusts the wet wash cloth that sits on her forehead, the wind from the oscillating fan that sits on the coffee table cools it each time it blows across her face. 

Her laptop sits forgotten on the small desk by the window that overlooks the street. She’s found it hard to concentrate this past month. Between the never ending heat and her expanding girth, writing was the last thing she’s felt like doing. “Just two more months” she thinks as she lifts the glass of ice tea that had been precariously perched on her stomach. 

Her due date is around the early part of October, she chuckles at the coincidence of it being so close to Arnold’s birthday. Secretly she hopes it comes on the 5th of the month. That’s always been a hard time for Arnold, the anniversary of the last time he saw his parents. It’s her hope that if that day is shared with an equally happy memory it will even things out and she won’t have to watch him endure a pain that she can’t take away. In reality, though, the date is not the important thing. What is important is the fact that they are finally, after a year of trying, even having this baby. They’ve chosen to go against the current norm and not find out the sex of the baby until it’s delivered. They’ve read all the latest books on becoming parents and have even taken parenting classes at the local hospital.

They were starting to worry after the first six months of trying with no success. Not that she didn’t enjoy the trying. Oh no, on the contrary actually. They say that it’s the quiet ones you have to look out for and in Arnold’s case this proved time and time again to be true. See, for as mild mannered and easy going as he was to those around him, in the bedroom he was, as Helga liked to put it, a beast, always meaning that in a VERY positive way. He gave her a run for her money and she was never disappointed. Even now, at seven months pregnant he found ways to keep his wife happy.

She was sitting with her eyes closed now, a lecherous smile on her face when she heard the front door open. The jingle of the keys as they hit the ceramic bowl on the entry way table let her know it was her personal Don Juan come home from work. “Where did the day go!” she thought. He looks for her as he walks through the house. Seeing her in the family room he walks in, hiding something behind his back. As he sits down next to her he gives her a deep kiss as he brings a beautiful bouquet of pink roses out from their hiding place. 

“Happy anniversary my love!” He says with a huge smile on his face.

The very second the words come out of his mouth Helga slaps her forehead in dismay.

“Our anniversary! How could I forget? I’m so sorry!” She feels horrible forgetting the anniversary of the second happiest day of their lives. The first, of course, being the day they found out they were finally going to be parents. 

“It’s okay, babe, it’s not like you don’t have enough on your mind what with being pregnant and having that magazine deadline looming over you.”

“They’re so beautiful, I love them, and you.” She says as she leans in for another kiss.

“Five years.” Arnold says as he moves closer to her and puts an arm around her shoulders. 

He thinks back to the day they became engaged. They were young, very young, and as most people thought very foolish, but they were insistent and with both being eighteen there really wasn’t anyone that could stop them. 

It was right after high school graduation. They had spent most of their senior year discussing colleges and long distance relationships and Helga would have none of it. “No way Jose!” she’d said. “I didn’t spend almost sixteen years of my life pining away for you only to become separated after just a few short years of togetherness!” 

Arnold was adamant that she was not going to blow her chance to further her education because of him, after all, her dad was footing the bill for any college she desired. He, on the other hand would have to make it through on grants and loans and he didn’t feel right saddling her with his debt.

“That’s baloney”, she said in regards to the debt. “Whether we get married now or four years from now the bills will still be there so what does that matter, AND don’t even think that I’m going to wait until the loans are paid off, that will take years.” 

Another point to consider was the fact that there was no way, even if he could afford it, that his grades were good enough for him to even be considered at one of the Ivy League schools her father was pushing for.

Not to be deterred, Helga had a comeback for that too. “Who cares what school I go to, a degree is a degree. It’s not like I’m planning on being a doctor or something. All I need is a four year degree in English, which I can get anywhere.”

And so it went, one by one Helga was able to shoot down every point anyone would try to make in hopes of getting the two to change their minds. Finally, after seeing it was no use, their families stopped fighting them and relented. At least, they said, the two were still going to college.

And so, on this day, five years ago, they tied the knot. It was a simple, courthouse affair. The only people in attendance were Gerald and Phoebe as best man and maid of honor and Arnold’s grandparents. On Helga’s side it was her parents, her sister, Olga and her husband Samuel Ainsley Dunsmuir, III, of the Boston Dunsmuir’s to be precise. Helga always got a silent kick out of the fact that his initials spelled SAD, since, in her opinion that’s what he was, one sad excuse of a brother-in-law. 

After the ceremony the small group went back to the boarding house where half the neighborhood and most of their friends were waiting on the roof top for a surprise reception. The newly wedded couple was touched by the support of their friends. The party lasted long into the night and when it finally ended and everyone left, they spent their first night as man and wife in Arnold’s bedroom. They laughed over the fact that Helga now no longer had to sneak up the fire escape to the top of the roof and climb in his window every time they wanted to be together.

It was only about a week after the wedding that they, much to Big Bob’s chagrin, both shipped off to Washington State University, go Cougars! It not only had a good English department, it was quite liberal with its financial aid. They were able to get housing in a co-ed dorm for the first couple of years before moving into one of the universities’ on-campus apartment housing. It was difficult juggling two schedules. Wanting to graduate in only four years and not the usual five or six most students took meant heavy workloads, but at least they were able to come home at night to each other and as far as Helga was concerned that’s all that really mattered.

Upon graduation they moved back to Hillwood, degrees in hand, ready to take on the world. Helga went right to work on her writing career. She started by submitting poems and short stories to various magazines and online newspapers, finally landing a permanent position as a contributing author for a popular poetry magazine. It paid well and allowed her the freedom of working from home. In her spare time she is currently working on a romance novel geared towards the younger “tween” market. Drawing on experiences from her childhood, it’s a novel about young love and never giving up with just enough of the supernatural to keep things interesting.

Arnold used his degree to obtain a part time position as the career counselor at none other than their old alma mater, Hillwood High. He works there three days a week leaving him the other two to manage things at the boarding house so his grandparents could finally live out the rest of their lives in leisure at Casa Paradiso, something his grandfather’s wanted to do for years. In the summer months when school is out of session Arnold works for Big Bob at his electronics emporium. It’s a job he detests but it helps provide a comfortable life for the two of them.

It is a simple life but one they wouldn’t change for all the money in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

Helga holds the bouquet of roses up to her nose and closes her eyes, breathing in their scent.

“Oh, I just love the smell of roses.” She says as she peers over them.

“I know,” Arnold says giving her shoulders a squeeze, “that’s why I got them for you, Doi.”

She smiles as he uses her own phrase against her.

“I have one more surprise.” He gives her a wink as he nudges her to get her moving. “Get up and get dressed, I’m taking us out to a fancy dinner at your favorite French restaurant.”

“Chez Paris?” Her eyes are hopeful that she’s right.

“Yep, you’ve got one hour to make yourself presentable to the outside world.”

“Ugh, that means getting up off the couch, which means drying my feet, which means trying to reach them, which means……….”

He gets the hint and grabs the towel that sits on the coffee table and cuts her off, and kneels in front of her.

“Okay, okay, give me a foot and I’ll dry you off.”

Smiling, she quickly pops a foot out of the tub, playfully splashing water at him.

“Oh yeah?” He says narrowing his eyes at her. “You might not want to start something you can’t finish.” He acts like he’s going to pick up the tub with her other foot still in it to dump it on her.

She waves her arms at him laughing. “Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll be good. I promise!”

He starts to dry her foot. “I thought that’s what you’d say.”

She leans back as he massages her feet relishing the feel of his hands as they work out the pain that the pressure from her added weight has put on them. He examines her ankles and doesn’t like how much they have swollen over the past week.

“When’s your next doctor’s appointment?” He enquires. 

“Not for another week, why?”

“I don’t know, I just don’t think I like the looks of your ankles. They’re too swollen, they worry me.”

“Oh Arnoldo, you always over think things. I’m okay. It’s been hot, and the heat makes me swell.”

“Well, I still don’t like it. Promise me you’ll talk to the doctor about it at your appointment, okay.”

“Okay, okay, criminy. Now if you will be so kind as to help me up.”

She reaches her hands out to him and he takes them. Jokingly, he makes a loud grunting sound as if her weight is too much for him to bear.

“Very funny, Arnoldo.” She says as she waddles off towards the bathroom to freshen up for their big night out.

He smiles as he watches her walk away making quacking sounds and without turning to look at him she flips him the bird as she over exaggerates her waddle.

He starts to switch his quacking to the Oompa Loompa song from Willy Wonka but decides not to press his luck. 

 

………………………………………………….

 

She looks at herself in the medicine cabinet mirror that hangs over the sink. Her eyes are puffy and her hair sticks out at odd angles from the bun that sits haphazardly on her head. 

“Ugh.” She thinks to herself, “no way is a quick touch-up going to fix this mess. It’s shower time.”

She turns on the water to the shower and lets it run as she slips out of her nightgown. She gets her maternity granny panties down her stomach with no problem but being unable to bend at the waist she has to shimmy them the rest of the way down so she can step out of them. 

She stands at the shower/tub combo now and really wishes it was a walk in. 

“ARRR-NOOOLLLLD!” She yells at the top of her lungs.

She hears his footsteps as he runs to her beckoning call. 

“What! What’s wrong? You okay?” He says with an anxious look on his face. 

He swings open the bathroom door to see her standing with her back to him, naked, in front of the tub/shower with one arm held up beside her. He chuckles as he takes her arm and helps her step into the tub.

“I forgot you’d need help getting in. Anything else I can do for you?” he says through narrowed eyes, a slight leer in his expression.

She stands under the cool spray letting it run down her body.

“Not if we have to be at the restaurant in an hour.” She says and with a queen like expression she waves him off and adds, “I shall call for you when I’m ready to get out.”

“Yes, my Liege.” He says and he gives her an exaggerated bow as he backs out of the bathroom.

She can’t help but smile at him as she pulls the shower curtain shut and reaches for the body wash. 

As she washes she marvels over how her life has turned out. She wasn’t always happy, it wasn’t easy growing up the younger, forgotten Pataki child. She always felt like she was the “oops” child. The “not really wanted but we’re stuck with her now” child, which did very little for her self-esteem. Combine that with a sister that could do no wrong, an overbearing, workaholic dad and a mom that drowns her sorrows in alcohol and what do you get? One Helga G. Pataki, that’s what you get. “God, what a messed up childhood that was.” She thinks with a grimace. 

Ahh, but those days were over. Now she’s Helga G. Shortman and she plans on staying Helga G. Shortman for the rest of her life, and live with the man of her dreams, and have five, no, six! No, eight! Yeah, eight kids and two dogs, and three cats…..

She’s snapped out of her daydream by the sound of someone clearing their throat. She gives a startled jump and she sees Arnold’s face staring at her around the shower curtain.

“You plan on coming out of there anytime soon? We do have reservations you know.”

She gives him a haughty look and reaches out her hand as she speaks in her best queenly voice.

“I was just about to summon you. You may hand me my towel and help me out now.”

He gives her a bow. “Whatever you wish my Lady.” He helps her out of the tub and wraps the towel around her. 

She grabs a smaller one and bends her head down wrapping her hair up. As she lifts her head back up she sees his face reflected in the mirror as he stands behind her. Their eyes lock through the steam covered glass and she feels his hands through the towel as he starts to dry her off from behind. He kisses the crook of her neck as he runs the towel down her sides. Her body starts to stir and her heart picks up its pace as she swallows, trying to find her voice.

“Umm,” she starts out, having to swallow again before continuing. “Reservations, remember?”

He lifts his eyes to the mirror again, his pupils are large and dilated. His voice is deep and throaty. “Right, reservations. We’ll have to continue this tonight.” He adds as a second thought, “If that pleases my Lady?”

It always amazes her how after all these years he can still take her breath away. 

“Yes,” she says softly, “that pleases me very much.”


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning she lays with her back slightly propped up against the headboard of their bed. Over the last month this has become the only real way she can get comfortable enough to sleep. Forget her favorite position, curled up on her stomach, pillow clutched in her arms, face buried in the cottony softness. Trying to sleep on her back made her feel like her insides were being crushed and don’t even mention sleeping on her side. Not even a pillow under her stomach for support helped.

So there she lay, listening to her husband snore peacefully in total bliss, unaware of the torture she must endure. “Oh, pity’s me,” she laments over exaggerating with one arm thrown over her forehead, “such is the fate one must endure for those she loves.”

Jealous of his restful slumber she considers hitting him over his head with her pillow but dismisses the thought. “Heh, poor fellow, in a couple of hours he’s going to have to spend his day in the company of Big Bob. I guess he deserves a break.” 

Twenty minutes later his alarm goes off. He grumbles as she nudges him and throws his arm out to stop the brain piercing buzzing. He rolls over rubbing his face and looks up to see her smiling down at him.

“Good morning my Lady.” He says as he stretches. “Did you sleep well?”

“Eh, well enough I guess.” She says through a pout.

He pulls himself up next to her and throws an arm around her shoulders and kisses her cheek.

“Aww, well, not much longer now, then you’ll be back on your stomach, drooling into your pillow as always.”

“Hey!” She quips, “I don’t drool in my sleep!”

“Whatever you say, Helga.”

He kisses her lips then scoots down, lifting the nightgown she wears over her rounded stomach. He gives it a kiss then talks gently to it.

“And how is little Arnelga this morning?”

She rolls her eyes at the name he has christened their child with.

“Ugh, why do you insist on calling our child Arnelga of all things?”

“Well, it’s better than referring to him or her as It. I guess I could call it Helnoldo if you’d rather.”

“God, you are so weird sometimes.”

“Weird, huh? Is this weird?” he says as he slides down a bit further and his face disappears below her belly.

Feeling him part her legs she takes in a quick breath as he shows her just how weird he can be. Instinctively her hands reach down towards his head in an effort to guide him on his journey to the underworld but her belly is too large and gets in the way. Finding it to be a futile effort she throws her hands up behind her and grabs onto the headboard, her knuckles growing white as she leaves him to his quest. When he finally succeeds in finding the Holy Grail she throws her head back, announcing to the world that he has accomplished his mission.

“OHHHH, ARRRRRRRR-NOOOOOOLLLLLLDDDDDDD!” She calls. 

His name can be heard as it’s carried by the warm breeze to the street below. It floats on the air and gets lost among the sounds of the number 9 bus that heads uptown and the taxis as they jockey for position in order to beat the light that has just turned yellow. 

Afterwards she promises him that a hearty breakfast will be waiting for him when he’s done with his morning shower. He kisses her forehead and gives her a nod, not really believing it and leaves the room. She thinks to herself that she has at least a good ten minutes before having to head to the kitchen so she lays back to bask a bit in the afterglow of her husband’s loving touch.

Twenty minutes later Arnold comes back into the bedroom, dressed, toasted bagel in hand and gives his sleeping wife a soft kiss. He places his hand on her belly as their child gives it a hard kick from the inside. He takes it as a high-five and leaves for work. 

 

..................................................................................

 

Forty-five minutes later she wakes up with a start. She looks at the clock on the bedside table and throws herself back against the headboard.

“Criminy,” she thinks to herself, “I did it again!”

She feels bad for falling asleep on Arnold and leaving him to face the day, and Big Bob, without proper sustenance. 

She knows that he understands her need to grab sleep whenever she can find it but she shoots him an apology text anyway.

“Ahhh, I’m soooo sorry for falling asleep when I promised you breakfast. Especially after how ‘nice’ you were to me this morning! Can you ever forgive me?”

It took a few minutes, but eventually she got his response.

“Well, I had considered moving out and going to live with your parents over it but then decided that would just be punishing me and not you so I guess I can forgive you.”

His response makes her giggle and she’s quick with a reply.

“Excellent, well just consider yourself one up on me and I’ll owe you one.”

“Just what I want to hear, I’ll be expecting payback tonight.” This is followed by a winking emoji.

She responds with a simple “Thumbs Up” emoji of her own.

Throwing her legs over the edge of the bed, she slips her feet into her worn, but comfortable slippers and waddles towards the kitchen. 

The house is empty of boarders at the moment, a fact that, although this means no rent money coming in, she is happy about it for now. She is glad that they will have an opportunity to be just a family of three for a while. 

When Oskar and Susie split up she was sad to see the only other female in the house leave. On the other hand she couldn’t wait to say good-bye to Oskar. He always kind of gave her the creeps. 

Soon after Ernie Potts announced he was finally tying the knot with his girlfriend. Everyone was surprised but happy for him, and then Mr. Hyunh made the decision to go live with his daughter. It all seemed to come at once but that was okay because shortly after that was when Arnold and Helga got the wonderful news of her pregnancy.

As she approaches the kitchen the smell of coffee hits her and a smile spreads across her face. Unfortunately it’s just decaffeinated but its coffee just the same. Walking to the counter she sees the spread he has set out for her. 

Next to the still hot coffee is her favorite mug. It’s one he had made for her through one of those “put your picture on anything you can think of” sites. He had taken a picture from when they were kids, they were maybe in second grade. They sat together on the grass at a picnic and he was handing her a flower. They were looking into each other’s eyes and smiling. Arnold always used that picture as proof that, even at such a young age, on some level they both must have known they were destined to be together. 

Sitting in front of the toaster is a bagel already sliced and ready to be toasted. The cream cheese sits next to that. He had also taken one of the roses from the bouquet he gave her yesterday with a note under it. 

Dear Helga,   
I didn’t have the heart to wake you.   
I’ll miss you while I’m gone, give   
Little Arnelga a hug for me.  
I love you,  
Arnold

She shakes her head at the silly name once again and almost wishes they had decided to find out the baby’s sex as she sticks the bagel into the toaster.

With breakfast in hand she walks into the other room and sits at the computer. Upon waking it from its overnight hibernation the abandoned article she had been working on still sits on the screen, the cursor blinking at her as if to say “It’s about time you came back to me.”

She hated working under deadlines, the pressure always stifled her creativity. So there she sat, chewing on her bagel, staring at the beckoning screen. 

Her mind started to wander to Arnold. She so wanted to make up for being such a Yutz over the past couple of weeks. She wanted to do something special for him, but what. She wanted it to be something that would show how much she cared, something she could put all her effort into.

Thinking about the thoughtful breakfast he left for her she decided to try her hand at making him a fancy, gourmet meal. She knew she wasn’t much of a cook, in fact, she was a horrible cook, but if she could pull off a huge fancy dinner then Arnold would know how hard she’d tried, so, closing out her article she hit the search tab and began her hunt for the perfect meal.


	4. Chapter 4

She spent the next hour searching various cooking websites, trying to piece together the perfect menu. Never being one to back down from a challenge, even a self-imposed one like this, she put together what she felt was the perfect romantic dinner for two. They would start the meal with a fresh Waldorf salad which means she’ll need apples, grapes, celery, walnuts, lemon juice, mayonnaise and lettuce.

Next the main course. With Arnold being a beef eater she knew it would have to be some kind of roast so she chose to make chateaubriand. Mostly because it sounded sexy and fancy. For this she will need a roast, obviously, a shallot, “whatever that is” she thinks to herself, red wine and something called demi-glace.

She looks up the recipe for demi-glace and when she sees a simmering time of eight hours she wonders if she’s in over her head. Luckily she finds a recipe for a quickie knock-off demi-glace made with canned beef broth and decides to go with that.

For the side dish she picks a potato recipe that just calls for slicing your potatoes into ovals and roasting them. Perfect. Along with the potatoes she chooses green beans because she already knows how to cook those.

Finally it’s time to think about dessert. From the few times they’ve been to Chez Paris she knows his favorite thing out of all the menu items is their decedent triple layer chocolate mousse cake. “How hard can that be to make.” She thinks and adds it to the menu.

Satisfied with her choices she gets dressed and heads out for a little grocery shopping. Walking down the street she hits Green Meats first. Peeking in the window she sees Harold behind the counter weighing out some lamb chops for a customer. She lets herself into the shop and the bell that sits above the door announces her arrival. Harold looks up from the scale and gives her a smile and a wave. 

Harold knew since the fourth grade that when he grew up he wanted to be a butcher. He had worked for Marty Green a few days a week after school while growing up. He was a natural around the business end of a knife as he cut and carved the various slabs of meat into roasts, and steaks and chops. Mr. Green knew he had finally found the perfect person for taking over the butcher shop once he was ready for retirement, so soon after Harold graduated from college he took the job of butcher on full-time with Marty teaching him all the ins and outs of running the business. 

She stands in front of the meat counter now looking at the various roasts wondering just which one it is she will need. 

“Hey, Helga,” Harold says once he’s done with his other customer, “how’s it going?”

“Well, other than being as big as a house things are going pretty good.”

“That’s good to hear, so, what can I do for you today?”

“I kinda messed up and forgot about our wedding anniversary yesterday and I’m looking to make up for it by making Arnold a fancy dinner. I’m thinking of making chateaubriand for him but I don’t know what type of meat to get.”

“Wow, that’s pretty adventurous for someone that doesn’t cook much. You sure you’re up for tackling it?”

“Piece of cake.” She says a little too confidently. 

Having learned over the years that you don’t argue with Helga, Harold goes along with it and picks her out the best tenderloin he has and wraps it up.

“Just remember, Helga, that’s a very sensitive cut of meat. Whatever you do, don’t overcook it!”

“I won’t.” She says as she waves good-bye and heads out the door.

An hour later she is back at home, the groceries she bought spread out on the kitchen table, the printed out recipes laid out in front of her. Seeing it all sitting there staring up at her she wonders if this is such a good idea after all. For a brief second she considers calling her sister Olga but abruptly dismisses it. No way was she going to admit to her sister she needed help. 

She could handle this, “just keep thinking, piece of cake”, she tells herself over and over.

Looking at the clock on the wall she sees that there are exactly three hours left before Arnold will be getting off of work. She decides to take things one step at a time and starts with something easy. She gathers all the ingredients for the salad and begins chopping the apples into small pieces. It doesn’t take long before it’s finished and in the fridge.

“See,” she tells herself, “Piece of cake.”

Looking at the recipes she realizes that the rest of the menu items all use the oven, and each at a different temperature. Also, she didn’t give any thought to the timing of the meal and wondered which item should be started first. 

She decided to cook the roast first then let it sit as she made the sauce and potatoes. Then the cake could cook after the potatoes.

She now had 2 ½ hours before Arnold would be heading home. Still plenty of time. She hoped. 

“Step one.” She reads, “Brown the roast in a large skillet.” 

“Okaaay, browning. So you don’t just throw it in the oven I guess.” 

It takes longer than she thought it would to go through the browning process but eventually it’s ready for the oven. 

Next step is the knock off demi-glace recipe. That should be easy, just boil down a can of beef broth until it’s reduced by half. She sets it on the back burner and proceeds to forget about it.

With two hours left she starts peeling the potatoes. After slicing them she leaves them on the cutting board and checks on the roast. Opening up the oven door she wonders why it isn’t hot and realizes that she forgot to turn it on when she put the meat in. 

“Criminy!” She yells to the empty kitchen.

She turns the oven on and instead of cooking it at the suggested 350 degrees she ups it to 400 and goes back to working on the potatoes.

She melts some butter in a pan and goes to get the potatoes to start sautéing them. Looking at them she sees that they have turned brown from being exposed to the air. She wasn’t sure if they were still okay to eat but since she didn’t have any more she just used those. Once browned in the butter she places the pan in the oven with the roast. She checks the meat and finds it still far from being done so she ups the temperature a bit more.

Standing at the stove she smells something burning and remembers the beef broth she had set on the back burner to reduce. She checks on it and finds a burned glob of dark brown goo covering the bottom of the pot.

“Who needs a sauce for the meat anyway.” She rationalizes and goes to pick up the pot forgetting to use a potholder. She wraps her fingers around the hot handle lifting it a few inches off the stove before her brain registers that the pot is, indeed, hot. She drops the pot, it hits the stove forcing the goo to shoot up splattering the front of her dress and getting in her hair.

She’s flustered now and looks at the clock. Just over an hour left. “This could still work.” She convinces herself.

No sooner does she think this when she remembers the roast. Remembering the potholder this time she throws open the oven door and is met with a puff of smoke as she pulls out the meat. The outside has formed a hard black charred crust. She figures she could maybe just cut it away and all will be well. She checks the potatoes sticking a fork into them. They have stuck together and the whole pan of them lifts out as one large piece.

Placing the potatoes on the stove she covers the roast in foil so it stays warm and squares her shoulders. She has one last chance to redeem herself, and that’s with the cake. 

Clearing her mind she puts the past mistakes behind her and concentrates on the dessert. She has just under an hour to make the best damn chocolate cake Arnold has ever eaten. Grabbing the bag of flour she starts to open it. The glue that holds the paper package shut is strong and she has to give it a good tug. Pulling harder than she meant to, the top of the bag rips open causing the flour to puff out everywhere. It covers her face and sticks to the bits of goopy beef broth that covers her dress and hair. 

Furious she bangs the bag of flour down on the table, causing it to once again fly into her face. Coughing she swats at the bag with her hand knocking it over covering the table and floor in the fine powder. 

Emotions high she isn’t paying attention anymore to what she’s doing and as she reaches for the carton of eggs it opens up and they spill to the floor. 

Raising her hands to the sky she throws her head back and yells to the great cooking Gods. “I give up! You win! I’m not a cook!”

With her back to the refrigerator she slides down to the floor and sits among the broken eggs and spilt flour. Fifteen minutes later Arnold comes home and this is how he finds her.

As he steps inside the boarding house he hears a gentle sobbing coming from the kitchen. Standing in the doorway he takes in the scene before him. 

The kitchen table is covered in potato peelings and food wrappers, old browned apple cores and wilted lettuce. Everything is covered in a fine layer of flour. The oven stands open, heat still radiating from it. On the stove top sit a pan of burned potatoes, a saucepan filled with some sort of goo and something sits covered in foil that he’s almost afraid to look at.

Turning his gaze downwards now he discovers the origin of the sobbing. There, sprawled out on the floor, back against the refrigerator, surrounded by broken eggs and flour sits his very pregnant wife. Head cast down, her hands covering her face.

“Helga?” He tries his best to keep the laughter he feels welling up inside him from slipping out. “Are you okay?”

“D-d-don’t look at m-m-mee.” Helga sobs from behind her hands.

“What happened here?” 

“I-I-I tuh-tried to cook you a fancy dinner, and when it all f-fell apart I sat down on the f-f-floor but I couldn’t get myself back up again.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Arnold softly says as he sits down beside her. He places an arm around her shoulders and pulls her into his chest.

She grabs on to his shirt and buries her face into his shoulder. “I felt so bad forgetting our anniversary. I wanted to make it up to you by cooking you a nice dinner. But I failed.”

It’s getting harder for him to keep his composure as he smells the burned goo in her hair. 

“My darling Helga, you didn’t need to go through all this just for me.” He pushes her back a bit so he can look her in the eye.

“Noooo!” she exclaims again, “Don’t look at meeee, I look horrible!”

“Aww, Baby, you look perfect to me.” Arnold gives her a kiss and doing his best Ed Sheeran imitation he starts to softly croon their favorite song into her ear:

“Baby, I’m dancing in the dark, with you between my arms  
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song  
When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath,  
But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight.”****

 

The song did the trick and she gave him a nudge with her shoulder as she giggled and looked at him.

“Ahhhh, Arnold my love, I don’t deserve you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, look at you, you’re so kind and understanding and loving. And I’m – I’m none of that.”

He looks her in the eye with a stern expression on his face. “I don’t ever want to hear you say that again. You are the one that’s kind and loving, when are you going to realize that about yourself?”

Helga doesn’t answer him, instead she just leans back into his chest and sighs. They sit quietly for a moment before Arnold breaks the silence.

“So, um, what were we going to have for dinner?”

Helga giggles and says, “It was supposed to be chateaubriand and chocolate mousse cake although I think the salad is still okay.”

He looks around the kitchen and says, “I don’t know, feels more like a pizza night to me.”

Laughing now she throws her hands out in front of her. “Help me up and you can order the pizza while I start cleaning this mess up.”

He pulls out his cell phone and before dialing he looks at her giving her a wink and says, “Oh, and don’t forget, I’m expecting payback for this morning later.”

Through a giggle she gives him a smile and says “Whatever you say, Arnoldo!” as she tosses the burnt potatoes into the trashcan. 

 

A/N *** I own no rights to Perfect or anything Ed Sheeran does. :)


	5. Chapter 5

It’s a bright Saturday morning. As he wakes up he starts to open his eyes, but the sun streams through the bedroom window, hitting him directly in the face, causing him to shut them even tighter. Without looking he rolls onto his other side and throws out his arm, reaching for his wife. Instead of his hand landing on her pregnant belly, it hits the empty bed sheets. He opens one eye and confirms the fact that he is alone in the bed. He rolls onto his back and considers going back to sleep but the smell of bacon suddenly makes him change his mind. 

As he walks through the bedroom he steps over the trail of clothes that were dropped last night as they made their way to bed. He smiles as he remembers how she felt as she straddled him while he lay on his back, and how her belly loomed over him as she leaned forward holding on to the headboard for support. He loved how she approached their sex life like she did every other aspect in her life, with a passionate, take charge, attitude and it surprised him that, even at seven months pregnant, her appetite for him seemed to increase rather than dwindle.

Now he follows his nose to the kitchen and finds her standing at the stove stirring a frying pan full of scrambled eggs. There is bacon, only slightly burnt, sitting on some paper towels and bread in the toaster.

“Well, I’m glad to see you undeterred after last night’s cooking experience.” He says as he comes up behind her and plants a good morning kiss on the top of her head.

“Yeah, I’ve decided to stick with what I know, scrambled eggs and toast, aaaaand, look, the bacon isn’t too crisp.”

“Mmmm, I like my bacon burnt, uhh, I mean crisp.” He teases.

“Whatever.” She hands him a plate of eggs and bacon.

They sit at the table enjoying their breakfast when Arnold asks, “So, what are your plans for this fine Saturday?”

“I’ll probably spend most of it trying to finish up that article that’s due next week. What about you?”

“I was wanting to call Gerald and see if he wanted to get up a game of basketball or something, but I guess I should take advantage of us being tenantless and do some of those repairs that have been needing to get done. There’s a few leaky faucets and the skylight in my old bedroom needs fixing.”

When the couple had returned from college and had taken over running the boarding house they had moved out of Arnold’s old bedroom and into the master suite that his grandparents used to occupy. At first Arnold felt weird sleeping in their old room, making love to his wife in their old bed, but once they moved the old furniture out and replaced it with brand new stuff of their own he actually liked it much better. It had a small, private living room with a fireplace and a small hallway that led to the large bedroom. When there were tenants occupying the other rooms it became their own little hideaway. 

Finishing the last of his coffee Arnold put both their dishes into the dishwasher. Turning to her he said, “Don’t forget we have dinner plans with your sister and her husband tonight too.”

Cringing, Helga replied, “Criminy, I forgot about that. Maybe it’s not too late to get out of it. I can feign some sort of pregnancy excuse.”

“No, Helga, you can’t. It’s too late to back out.”

“But I don’t want to gooooo.” Helga whined. “I can’t stand that loser husband of herrrrs!”

“Neither can I but she’s your sister and it will hurt her feelings if we back out on such short notice.”

“Fine. We’ll go, but if he starts getting all uppity I can’t promise that I’ll be good.”

Arnold wraps his arms around her as best he can and looks her in the eye, “Hmm, well if you misbehave I may have to punish you afterwards.”

“That a promise?” Helga asks with a raise of one eyebrow.

“I don’t know, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

She gives him a kiss then turns and heads to her computer. “That sounds more like an incentive than a punishment.”

He smiles as he heads to the basement to retrieve the tools he’ll need for the day’s chores.

 

………………………………………………………………….

 

Sitting at her laptop she stares at the half written article on the screen. The words are a bit blurry and she rubs her eyes to clear them. As her hands sit poised on the keyboard she takes notice of her swollen fingers. She holds up the hand that wears her wedding ring and tries to remove it. She’s worried at first that it’s stuck there for good, but after a bit of shimmying it back and forth it finally comes off. She looks at the indentation it’s left on her finger and doesn’t think she should put it back on. 

Her conscience nudges her at the back of her mind. “Swollen fingers is not a good sign.” It softly whispers to her. “Your mom’s trouble always started with swollen fingers. It’s hereditary you know, and you’re right about at that same time in your pregnancy as she was…..” Scared of facing the truth, she pushes the thought from her mind and doesn’t think about it again.

Getting up she has a momentary bout of dizziness. She steadies herself then walks to the bedroom and places the ring into a small jewelry box that sits on the dresser for safe keeping. It’s not a very expensive ring, but to her and Arnold the value lies more in the sentiment. 

Upon the announcement of his and Helga’s engagement Arnold’s grandparents gave them a set of matching his and hers wedding rings that once belonged to Arnold’s great-grandparents on Phil’s side of the family. His is a simple gold band with delicate etchings that circle around it. Hers consists of a beautiful, deep, royal blue sapphire that, when held to the light, shines with a delicate six rayed star that seems to float across it. The etchings on the band match that of Arnold’s ring. Arnold always said the sapphire reminded him of Helga’s eyes for he insists that when she smiles they sparkle with the same star as her ring. 

Waddling back to her computer she rubs her hands, a hint of concern over the sudden swelling sits in the back of her mind. Knowing how Arnold is already worried about how swollen her feet have been she decides not to mention anything to him. 

With her concentration back on work she proceeds to finish the article she’s been working on, making herself promise not to stop until it’s done. 

 

……………………………………………………………………………………….

 

Helga sits in the passenger seat of the old Packard as she and Arnold head out for their dinner date with Olga and her husband. She can’t seem to get the seatbelt to fit comfortably around her.

“Criminy, stupid seatbelt. These things are not made for pregnant people!”

“Aww, come on Helga, you can handle it, only a couple of more months then you won’t have to worry about it anymore.” Arnold says as he gives her belly a pat. 

“Heh, easy for you to say, you’re not carrying a bowling ball around inside of you.” 

Giving her a pseudo stern look he chastises, “I would prefer it if you didn’t refer to little Arnelga as a bowling ball, our child is very sensitive you know.”

Rolling her eyes she gives him a sarcastic, “Riiiiight.”

Looking down, she picks up the bottle of red wine that sits on the seat between them. “I don’t even know why we’re bringing them wine, you know how Samuel is. I’ll bet you fifty dollars he’ll just look down his nose at it and pull out some overly pretentious bottle of his own and serve that instead.”

“Make it fifty kisses and you’re on, besides, it’s not polite to show up empty handed, even if it is just dinner at your sister’s.”

A few minutes later they were pulling into the large, circular driveway of Olga’s house.

Olga had met Samuel a little over three years ago at a benefit dinner that was being held to raise money to save whatever that year’s thing was that needed saving. It was the typical $1,000 a plate dinner where everyone stood around patting each other on the back for all their philanthropically good deeds. Their eyes had locked from across the room and it was love at first sight. 

He was the trust fund baby of a trust fund baby whose family fortune went back more than four generations. They spent the next three months jetting around from one exotic spot to another before he finally brought her home to meet Mummy and Daddy. They were not too impressed with her and her humble background however, but Olga was the type of person that could charm the skin off a snake and soon had them fawning at her feet. 

On the other hand, Big Bob couldn’t have been happier to have Samuel as a son-in-law and always made his feelings quite evident. His blatant favoritism of Samuel over Arnold infuriated Helga to no end, but Arnold always just shrugged it off as par for the course. 

When Olga told Samuel she wanted to live in Hillwood so she could be close to her family he had objected at first. Olga was relentless though so he finally agreed but only under the condition that they live in the wealthiest part of town there was. 

Now, sitting in their car, Helga looks out towards that house with dread.

“This night is going to suck so badly.” She complains.

“Just look at it as a few hours of torture then you’re free until Thanksgiving.” Arnold said, causing Helga to cringe at the thought of spending Thanksgiving with her family.

“Well isn’t that a happy thought.” She said sarcastically as she pushed herself out of the car.

They reach the front door and ring the bell. A few seconds later they hear footsteps come running up as the door swings open revealing a beaming Olga on the other side.

“Baby Sister!” she yells as she pulls Helga into a big hug. Pushing her to arm’s length she gives her a once over.

“Just look at you Baby Sister, you’re positively radiant!” Turning next to Arnold she gives him an equally big hug, “And Arnold! We’re just so very happy you two could make it tonight.”

Giving Helga a “Be Nice” look he hands Olga the bottle of wine. “We’re happy to be here, thanks again for the invite.”

By this time Samuel has joined them taking the bottle from Olga and looking down his nose at the label. 

“Oh my, this is a quaint little wine now, isn’t it. Welcome, welcome both of you. Please do come in.”

Helga gives him a “Hi’ya Sammy boy.” As she passes, knowing all too well how he hates to be addressed as anything other than Samuel. 

He gives her a huff as she passes by and turns his attentions to Arnold.

“So, Arnold old chap, how are things at the Beeper Emporium?” 

Realizing it’s going to be a long night Arnold just simply says, “It’s the Electronics Emporium now, not beepers anymore, but anyway, it’s fine. I’m down to my last week there for the summer.”

“Oh yes, that’s right. Your real job is that of, ohhh, something to do with guiding students is it?”

Helga starts to say something but Arnold quickly interrupts. “Guidance Counselor.” He says with a smile as he pulls Helga to him putting his arm around her.

“Oh, right, right. Well now, shall we retire to the sitting room while we wait for dinner?”

They follow Samuel and take a seat on a large, soft leather couch. Helga immediately sinks down into it and knows right away that there is no way she will be able to get out of it on her own. 

Olga brings in a tray of canapes as Samuel pours them a before dinner drink.

Helga picks up one of the canapes and gives it a sniff. “What is this stuff?” She asks, wrinkling her nose.

“It’s just the most yummy anchovy and caper spread. It’s a new recipe, I’m sure you’ll love it.” Olga said through a huge smile.

“Uh, yeah, I think I’ll pass on the fish bait tonight.” Helga said as Samuel just shook his head derisively at her.

After another half hour of pure torture Olga finally announces that dinner is ready.

As they sit at the dining room table Helga can’t help but notice that Olga had chosen to cook an almost exact duplicate of the dinner she tried to cook for Arnold the night before. 

In the middle of the table a perfectly cooked standing rib roast sits on a serving tray surrounded by a garnish of fresh parsley. There is another pan of au gratin potatoes, the cheesy sauce browned and bubbling. There’s a bowl of vibrant green beans almandine and a Waldorf salad that put hers to shame.

Arnold also noticed the similarity of this dinner to the one Helga had tried to cook, a giggle started to escape his throat until he looked over at Helga. She too was staring at the food that was spread out in front of them with a look that was a mix of awe, anger and, was that, jealousy? Whatever it was, it was enough to make Arnold swallow the giggle he was holding on to. 

Clearing his throat Arnold finally spoke up. “Wow, Olga, it all looks so…………delicious. Right Helga?” He gives her a small kick under the table, breaking her concentrated stare at the food.

“Uh, yeah, right, it looks great.”

Just then Samuel picks up a bottle of red wine he had brought up from their wine cellar. “And I have the perfect little Bordeaux to pair with a feast such as this.” 

Now it’s Helga’s turn to kick Arnold under the table and whisper to him, “I believe that’s 50 kisses you owe me.”

Annoyed at being interrupted as he was introducing his “perfect little Bordeaux” Samuel looks at Helga. “What was that you said?”

“Oh, uh, nothing, I was just commenting to Arnold about how good you are to the Mrs., you know, spoiling her with expensive wines and such. Anyway, as you were saying?” She said through an innocent smile.

“Yes, right. As I was saying, I have been holding on to this 2010 Pauillac from Chateau Lafite Rothschild for the perfect occasion. I really think you will like it Arnold.” Looking down his nose to Helga he says, “It’s too bad you can’t enjoy it with us my dear.”

“Oh, that’s perfectly okay Sammy Boy,” Helga replied sarcastically while holding up her glass of sparkling cider, “I’m perfectly fine over here with my apple juice.”

Finally noticing the tension between her husband and her sister Olga quickly hands Samuel a carving knife. “If you would be so kind my dear husband.”

Shooting Helga one last haughty look he takes the knife and begins to carve the meat. 

With dinner served Arnold digs in to his plate of food, commenting over and over again about how delicious everything is. 

Tasting the food before her Helga hated the fact that she, too, found it to be delicious. “Of course,” she thinks to herself, “why wouldn’t it be. Everything she does is perfect.”

Vowing not to let anyone see how delicious she thought Olga’s dinner was she proceeded to just pick at it as Arnold devoured his and happily took Olga up on her offer of seconds.

The ‘piece de resistance’ to the meal came when Olga brought out a beautifully cooked chocolate soufflé for dessert. 

Feigning fullness from eating such a big dinner Helga regrettably declined the offer of dessert and watched as Arnold stuffed his face with the chocolatey goodness. 

An hour later the two were back in the Packard heading for home, with Arnold fighting his hardest not to fall asleep from his food coma, and Helga quietly simmering in the seat next to him.

When they get to the boarding house Helga swings the front door open and tromps into the kitchen, complaining the whole way.

Rummaging through the refrigerator she pulls out a couple of pieces of cold pizza and rants between bites, “Worse evening of my life! Did you hear the tone in that husband of hers voice as he spoke down to you? And those so called appetizers Olga tried to pawn off on us! Fish bait on a cracker! God, I’m starving!”

Arnold treads lightly as he answers her. “You know, if you weren’t so stubborn you could have enjoyed a really nice dinner too.”

Having no valid reply to that all Helga could come up with to say was half-hearted “Whatever.”

He comes up behind her as she stands at the sink finishing her pizza and kisses the top of her head and says, “One.”

Next he places a kiss on her right ear and says, “Two.”

By the third kiss she’s calmed down and through a giggle she asks, “What are you doing?”

He kisses her shoulder and replies, “I’m settling up on our bet. I owe you 50 kisses I believe. That one’s four.”

Taking her hand he kisses it as he leads her to their bedroom. “Only 45 more to go.”

“We’ll have to tell Sammy how much we enjoyed his wine.” Helga says, and after that there is no more talk of dinner for the rest of the night.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning she sits, as is the new norm, with her back propped up against the headboard of their bed. It’s going to be another hot August Sunday. She gently runs her fingers through Arnold’s hair as he sleeps being careful not to wake him. She runs a finger down the curve of his cheek to his shoulder then down the arm that is resting over her extended belly. Their baby has been very active this morning and Arnold’s arm moves with the motion it makes as it does one of its many internal summersaults. She thinks back to right before they found out that they were finally going to be a family of three.

She had woken up to a cold day in January. It was just like any other morning, she opened her eyes, looked adoringly at her loving husband, kissed him on the cheek then rolled over so she could drag herself out of bed to start his breakfast. 

Everything was fine until the first few pieces of bacon started to sizzle in the frying pan. Something about it was not right. She watched as the fatty meat started to bubble and pop in the growing grease that was starting to form in the pan. The scent of the frying food drifted deep into her sinuses triggering her stomach to suddenly start flip flopping around. She felt last night’s dinner begin to well up towards her throat. Placing one hand on her stomach and the other over her mouth, she made it to the bathroom just in time. Kneeling before the porcelain god she proceeded to empty her stomach.

Arnold lay half-awake in the bedroom when he heard the retching from the bathroom. Upon leaving their little hide away bedroom he stood in the hallway with a decision to make. On one side of the hallway he could hear his wife moaning behind the bathroom door. On the other side he could see smoke emitting from the kitchen doorway, the smell of burned bacon hitting his nose. Not wanting the whole boarding house to go up in flames he chose to extinguish the burning bacon first, then go tend to his wife.

Once entering the kitchen he sees the smoking frying pan. Grabbing an oven mitt he turns off the stove’s burner then moves the pan to the back of the stove. There is grease splattered all over the stove top and counter and five small, black strips of bacon floating in about a half inch of grease. The room is filled with the heavy smoke from the charred meat, so he runs to the window flinging it open. He goes back to the stove and turns on the air vent hoping to pull some of the smoke out through the vent in the ceiling. Satisfied that the kitchen is now under control and there’s no more danger of fire he turns his attention to his sick wife. 

Running to the bathroom he swings the door open and finds Helga sitting on the floor, arms folded on the seat of the toilet, head resting on them. He swears there is a bit of a green tinge to her face as she sits there, eyes closed, with a layer of sweat dripping from her forehead.

“Helga.” He says with concern in his voice as he walks towards her. “Oh my gosh, are you okay?”

All she can muster is a long, “Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” In reply. 

Kneeling down beside her he places a hand on her back as he brushes the hair that has stuck to her sweat covered face aside. “What happened? Are you sick?”

“I don’t know.” She croaks, “One minute I was perfectly fine cooking you some breakfast and the next I was here, hurling into the toilet.”

With a concerned look on his face he asks, “Can you get up? Do you want me to carry you to bed? What can I do to help you?”

She pushes herself into a sitting up position, the room starts to spin as she throws a hand to her head as if it will help. “Just help me up, please, I think I can make it.”

He grabs her under one arm and supports her as she stands. Walking with an arm around her waist he leads her back to bed.

“How about I get you something to try and settle your stomach. I think we have some ginger ale in the fridge.”

The thought of putting anything into her mouth makes her dry heave. She rolls into a fetal position, holding her stomach. “Ugh, no, thanks but that’s okay. I think I just need to sleep it off, whatever it is. I’m sorry about breakfast.”

He kisses the top of her head and smiles. “That’s okay, don’t worry about it, I’ll grab something on my way to work. You just rest.”

She’s fallen back asleep before he’s even finished his sentence. Kissing the top of her head he makes his way to clean up the mess in the kitchen before heading off to work.

She wakes up an hour later to an empty house. She rolls to her back and waits for the room to spin. When it doesn’t she tries to sit up and is pleased to find that her dizziness has gone away.

“Wow that was weird.” She thinks as she heads back to the kitchen. She pours herself a mug of cold coffee and sticks it in the microwave. Once heated she sits at the kitchen table and thinks about what’s just happened.

She didn’t think it was food poisoning that made her sick because she and Arnold had both eaten the same thing for dinner the night before. It couldn’t be a 24 hour flu because she was feeling fine now. The only other thing she could think of was, could it be? She runs to the bathroom and pulls out an at home pregnancy test kit and proceeds to rip it open. This makes the ninth test she’s taken so she’s very familiar with the routine and disregards the instructions. 

She paces while she waits for the results, thinking that these were the longest five minutes of her life. Once the timer on her phone goes off she grabs the test and, finally, after eleven months of trying, sees a pink “YES” in the little window. Her legs grow weak so she sits on the closed toilet and starts to sob. She is overwhelmed with joy as she thinks about the little baby that is growing inside of her. Of “Their” little baby. A hundred questions run through her mind. Is it a boy or girl? Will it have a football shaped head or a mono brow? Or, God forbid, BOTH! Is it healthy? She prays that it is healthy. Finally able to stand she immediately calls her OBGYN to make an appointment.

The next thing on her mind is how to tell Arnold the good news. Knowing him and his propensity for denseness she knows she can’t be too subtle. She’s not a very good cook so a fancy dinner is out. She decides on presenting him with a gift. Something simple but obvious. She decides that a trip to the Mommy and Me clothing store in the mall is called for so, getting dressed, she heads for the mall.

Later that night she greets Arnold at the door with a deep kiss and a huge smile.

“Now that’s the way a man should be treated when he comes home from a hard day at work.” He says, grabbing her and kissing her again.

“I’ve missed you more than usual today.” She says as she holds him in a tight hug.

Her words warm his heart and he places his forehead to hers and looks her in her eyes. “It feels good to be missed, makes one feel loved.”

She takes him by the hand and leads him through the house. “Dinner is almost ready, go freshen up and I’ll meet you in the family room.”

A few minutes later he finds her sitting on the couch, a cold beer waiting for him on the coffee table. He sits down and comments on the special attention he’s getting.

“Sooo, greeting me at the door with a big hug and kiss, cold beer waiting on the table. I feel like I’m missing something here. I know it’s not our anniversary. What’s up?”

“Up? Nothing’s up, can’t a wife just miss her husband?” She gives him an innocent look.

He, in turn, looks at her suspiciously. “Well, I guess it is possible. So I’m glad to see you’re feeling better. I’m glad it wasn’t the flu.”

“Oh, it definitely wasn’t the flu.” She says through a giggle.

He raises an eyebrow as he looks at her. “Oh? Then what was it?”

She pulls a small box with a pink and blue ribbon on it out from under a pillow. 

“Here,” she says, handing it to him. “Hopefully this will answer your question.”

He takes the gift and looks at it with a confused look on his face. “Ooookay, this is strange, even for you, but I’ll play along.”

He opens the box and pulls out a tiny pair of overalls and t-shirt set and a small blue baseball cap. Written across the t-shirt are the words “Daddy’s Little Slugger”. He looks from the outfit to his wife. His eyes start to well up and a small tear escapes down his cheek.

“Helga. Are you saying……….”

She’s crying now too as she nods her head yes. 

Placing the gift on the coffee table he pulls her into a tight hug. “I can’t believe it, I was so worried it was never going to happen.”

“I know, me too.”

That was just about seven months ago. So far the pregnancy has been pretty text book with everything progressing right on schedule. It’s only been the last week or so that she hasn’t been feeling all that well. Her swollen feet didn’t worry her. She knew that was normal. It was more the sudden swelling of her hands and the puffiness in her face that concerned her. Arnold had mentioned it now and then, but, not wanting to alarm him she always played it off as nothing. Then, about a day or two ago, she started getting dizzy and although her first course of action was to blame it on the heat, deep down it worried her. 

She’d be seeing the doctor tomorrow so she figured she’d wait and see what she says before mentioning anything to Arnold. 

Her attention is drawn back to her husband as he gives a big stretch and opens his eyes. 

“Well good morning sleepy head.” She says to him as she strokes his cheek.

“Mmmm, good morning to you too.” He says as he places his hand over hers.

As he lets his fingers linger he notices that something is missing. He takes her hand and looks at it.

“Hey, how come you’re not wearing your wedding ring?”

She quickly pulls her hand away while trying to think up an answer.

“Huh? Oh, my ring? Um, yeah, well I took it off when I was cooking the other day, I didn’t want it to get all dirty and I, uh, guess I just forgot to put it back on.”

He narrows his eyes at her. “Yeah, um, no. I know that’s a lie because you had it on that night. Come on, fess up. What gives?”

“Okay,” she starts, choosing her words carefully so as not to worry him, “it’s no big deal, really, it was just getting a little tight and I didn’t want it to get stuck so I decided to take it off until after the baby comes.”

He sits up now and looks at her. She can tell he doesn’t believe her.

“Tight, huh?” There’s a tinge of anger in his voice. “Could the tightness be because of swelling? Hmmm? Something that I’ve been expressing concern over for the last couple of weeks?”

She gets out of bed and starts to waddle off towards the bathroom. “See, this is why I didn’t want to mention anything to you. I knew you’d blow it out of proportion.”

He climbs out of bed and follows her down the hallway, his voice rising a bit. “I’m not blowing anything out of proportion, you’re the one that’s not taking this seriously enough!”

He catches up to her just as she reaches the bathroom door. Before she has a chance to open it and escape inside he grabs her by her shoulders and turns her to face him.

“Helga, you know your mother had two miscarriages before having you, TWO! And you know they were both during the third trimester, and you know one of the first signs that there was trouble was the swelling. Why aren’t you taking this more seriously? Aren’t you even the least bit worried?”

Looking directly at him now her eyes flare as she swings her arms up, forcing him to lose his grip on her. “Not worried? You think I’m not worried?” She yells as she gives his chest a shove, pushing him away. “Of course I’m worried, as a matter of fact, I’m scared to death!”

Angry tears start to fall from her eyes now as she stands with her fists balled up at her sides. 

“I know perfectly well what the situation is here, Arnold. I’ve run the symptoms over in my mind. Dizziness? Check. Swelling of face and fingers? Check. Overall puffiness? Check.”

It takes every inch of self-control for Arnold not to yell so his words now come out through gritted teeth. “Well if you were aware of these symptoms, why didn’t you call the doctor and go get checked?” Losing the battle his voice gets louder, “And why didn’t you tell me!”

“I didn’t tell you, Ar-nol-do, because I didn’t want to worry you if it turned out to be nothing. AND, I didn’t call the doctor because the dizziness just came on a couple of days ago and I have an appointment tomorrow anyway!”

Lowering her voice, she wipes her eyes and says, “Now, if you don’t mind, I have to pee, so I hereby deem this conversation closed.”

“Fine!” He says as she enters the bathroom. Leaning into the closed door he yells, “And by the way, I’ll be joining you tomorrow at your appointment!”

He hears a muffled “Fine!” through the door as he turns and stomps off.


	7. Chapter 7

They had spent the rest of the day pretty much avoiding each other when they could. She busied herself with her laptop as he puttered around the boarding house finishing up the repairs he had started the day before. Earlier in the week they had made dinner plans with Gerald and Phoebe for this night. It was the last chance the four of them would have to be together before Phoebe headed back to Stanford.

She had three years left of her four year medical program before even being able to start her residency. Gerald had wanted to get married right out of college but Phoebe said the next four years were going to be intense enough without having the added stress of trying to make a new marriage work. So they compromised and set their wedding date for some time after her graduating from med school and before starting her residency. Since they wouldn’t know where she would be doing her residency until after graduation Gerald made the decision to stay in Hillwood. As it turned out he ended up getting a teaching job at the same school that Arnold worked at, Hillwood High. It was a joke between the two couples that the guys just couldn’t get enough of old Hillwood High so they had to get jobs there too. To supplement his teaching income Gerald had taken the job as the school’s varsity basketball coach, something he truly enjoyed. He also had the added benefit of working with his best friend three days a week.

Helga sits quietly now as Arnold drives them to Big Al’s Tasty Diner. In all the years she’s known Arnold she has never seen him as mad as he was earlier in the day. She’s worried that perhaps she was wrong to not include him in her concerns over the baby but is too stubborn to be the first to apologize. So it is in silence they sit for the duration of the drive.

When they get to the restaurant they don’t see either Phoebe or Gerald and figure they must be early. When they tell the hostess who they are waiting for she smiles at them and tells them to follow her. Arnold gives Helga a curious look and she shrugs her shoulders in reply as they follow the hostess into a back room. As the couple enters the room they are greeted by a loud chorus of voices that yell in unison, “SURPRISE!” 

The two are startled as they stand together and take in the room. There gathered before them are a group of their closest friends. The room is decorated in streamers of pink and blue. Along the back wall is a banner that has the word “Congratulations!” scrawled across it. There are pictures of cartoon storks holding babies wrapped up in blankets that are also in the pink and blue theme. There’s a long table filled with gifts and a cake with a picture of the same stork that adorns the walls. Written in blue icing are the words “Congratulations Arnold and Helga.”

The couple scan the room looking for their best friends. Seeing them they walk over and Helga gives Phoebe a big hug as Arnold and Gerald give each other their signature handshake before breaking down and giving each other a quick hug too.

Their friends surround them and the expectant parents are swept up in a myriad of hugs, handshakes and utterances of congratulations. The mood is festive and soon the early morning’s fight is forgotten.

Helga’s eyes are filled this time with happy tears as she turns back to Phoebe.

“I can’t believe you and Gerald did all this for us, Pheebs.”

“Of course, Helga, you don’t think we’d go without celebrating the birth of not only our oldest but our best friends’ baby do you?”

“I just don’t know what to say. Thank you. Thank you so much.”

After a minute the guests of honor are led to a table at the head of the room and motioned to sit down. The sound of a glass being hit with a fork is heard, quieting the crowd down. It is Gerald who speaks.

“If I may have your attention please. Before we go any further I would like to make a toast to our friends Arnold and Helga.” He turns to look at them both. “Arnold, he begins, it seems like only yesterday we were kids sitting in Mr. Simmons fourth grade class. There you were, sitting in the second row doing your best to listen to him teach as Helga sat in the back blowing spit wads at your head.”

The crowd laughs as they recall the many times this went on in Mr. Simmons class, causing Helga to cover her face with her hands as Arnold gives her a good natured nudge.

Gerald continues, “Fast forward to sometime in middle school and I remember the day you came to me and confided in me that you had started having feelings for Helga. Do you remember my reaction?”

Arnold laughs and shakes his head yes.

“Yep,” Gerald continues, “I looked you straight in the eye and said ‘Helga? Helga G. Pataki? Are you crazy?’”

Another round of giggles erupts from the crowd as Arnold looks at Helga, placing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to him.

“I’ll never forget what you said to me that day. You said ‘Gerald, I think I’ve found my soulmate, and it’s Helga.’ I remember the look on your face as you talked about her and I thought to myself ‘Man, you must be high’.”

Arnold bursts out laughing now as Helga lets out a “Hey!” The rest of the room joins Arnold in his laughing.

Looking at Helga Gerald holds up a hand, “Relax Helga, I’m just kidding.” Turning back to Arnold he says, “What I really thought was how I had never, in all our years of friendship, seen that look you had in your eyes at that very moment. It was obvious that you were truly and unconditionally in love.”

Hearing this, some of the girls let out a soft “Awww” while Arnold looked Helga in the eye and gave her a tender kiss.

Clearing his throat Gerald goes on. “Now, if it only hadn’t taken you a full YEAR to finally ask her out!”

Arnold blushes and it’s his turn to hide his face.

“But you did finally get around to telling her how you feel, and now here we are. You guys not only were the first of our group to get married, you are also the first to herald in a new generation. So if we can all raise our glasses, I speak for all of us when I say that we wish you both all the best as you venture into your new roles as parents. Here’s to a happy, healthy baby.”

The friends all lift their glasses as one and give a hearty “Hear, Hear!”

Shortly after Gerald’s toast a couple of waitresses come in to take everyone’s dinner order. The food is plentiful and the drinks flow. By the time the cake is served and presents have been opened the mood turns reminiscent and the friends take turns recalling stories from their past. 

As the party winds down Rhonda walks over and sits next to Helga to say her good-byes before leaving. She had an early flight back to the East Coast the next morning and wanted to make sure she got her eight hours of beauty sleep. 

After graduating college Rhonda made the decision that, if she was ever going to make it as a model, then New York was the place for her to be. It wasn’t an easy industry to break in to, but she was lucky to have a daddy that knew someone who knew someone else and, as they say, it’s not what you know, but who. So it was that help that led to her first real break and ever since she has been slowly becoming more and more well known within the modeling world. 

“Oh, Helga,” Rhonda says as she takes Helga’s hands in hers. “I just can’t get over how radiant you look, there definitely is a special glow about you.”

“Aww, well, thanks Rhonda. I can’t believe you flew all the way out from New York to be here tonight. I can’t tell you how much that means to Arnold and me.”

“Oh, of course, Helga. How could I miss out on celebrating the first of our group to become parents?”

“Well, we really appreciate it. I saw the perfume ad you did in the magazine I write for. You looked very sexy in it.”

“Why that’s very sweet of you to say, thank you. It was a dreadful shoot to endure though. Even though the beach we were at looked warm it wasn’t. I was practically freezing the whole time. And having to lie in all that sand as the waves washed over me, ugh, I was cleaning sand out of my lady parts the whole week we were there.”

“Whoa!” Arnold says throwing his hands up, “T.M.I.!” 

Helga and Rhonda laugh as they get up to hug good-bye. 

Giving both Arnold and Helga a hug Rhonda says, “I’ll try to come back as soon as I can once the baby comes, make sure someone texts me when he or she is here.”

“Will do.” Arnold says as she walks away.

Once the last guest has left the four best friends sit in quiet conversation.

“I wish you didn’t have to go back to California so soon, Pheebs.” Helga says through a frown.

“I know, me too.” Phoebe said sadly. “The thing I’m most sad about, though, is that I won’t be here for the baby’s birth. I can’t believe I’m going to miss the birth of my best friend’s baby.”

Trying to lighten the mood Arnold says, “Well, we can always have Gerald video it for you. Right, Gerald? You can get up nice and close and get some really good shots.”

“Ohhhh, no, no way, gross!” Gerald quickly replies. “I love you guys a lot, but not that much!”

Helga looks at Gerald as if insulted. “As if I’d want you down there!”

Phoebe gives a laugh. “Hah, Gerald would faint at the first sign of any blood anyway. He has a very delicate constitution you know.”

Getting serious again, Helga looks at her friend. “Really, though, I am going to miss you very much.”

“Yeah.” Phoebe says, “I know. By the way, I’m counting on you to keep an eye on this one for me while I’m at school still, you know.” She gestures towards Gerald with her thumb.

Helga looks from Gerald to Arnold. “It won’t be long before these two lunkheads will be back at work together, which means I’ll have three kids to watch after.”

Gerald looks at Helga. “And just what makes you think we’d need watching over?”

“Yeah!” Arnold pipes in. “What have we ever done that warrants us having to be babysat?”

“Well, let’s see,” Helga says as she taps a finger to the side of her forehead as if in deep thought, “How about the time you guys shrink wrapped the principal’s car? Or filled his office with giant balloons? Or………..”

“Okay, okay,” Gerald says as he holds up a hand to quiet her. “Man, play one or two practical jokes on a guy and you’re labeled for life.”

Turning back to Phoebe Helga says reassuringly, “Honestly, though, don’t worry about anything. “We’ll,” She gives Arnold a glance, “well, I’ll keep a close watch on Gerald for you.”

A half an hour later they notice that they are being watched by the wait staff. Looking at his watch Arnold comments on the time. 

“Uh, I think they’re ready for us to leave, it’s just about closing time.”

Gathering up the decorations and gifts the four head to the parking lot. They load everything into the Packard Arnold’s grandfather handed down to him and said their final good-byes. 

Once home Helga sits on the living room couch with the gifts spread out around her. Arnold comes in and, moving a box out of his way, sits down beside her. His hand comes up behind her head and he runs his fingers through her hair.

“We’re pretty lucky to have such good friends.” He says as she holds up a tiny pair of blue jeans.

“She leans her head on his shoulder and lets out a sigh. “Yeah, we sure are.”

After a moment of silence she finally brings up their earlier fight. “You know, Arnold, I’m, well, I’m sorry about this morning. You had every right to be mad. I should have discussed my concerns with you.”

“Yeah,” he says, “you really should have. I know you were just trying to keep me from worrying but I need to know these things, Helga.”

I know, but I guess I thought that if I didn’t talk about it then it wouldn’t be real, you know?”

“I guess I can understand that, but still, I need to know what’s going on. You need to promise me that from now on no more secrets. Okay?”

“Okay. You know, you really don’t have to take time off work to come with me to the doctor. I promise to tell you everything that goes on.”

“Naw, it’s okay, I really want to be there. I haven’t been to an appointment since the last ultrasound. Besides, I already told your dad I wasn’t coming in tomorrow, so we can make a day of it. After the appointment we can go on a picnic or something.”

“So, was Bob okay with not having his favorite employee there tomorrow?” Helga couldn’t help but tease.

“Eh, with this being my last week for the summer I think he already knows I’ve mentally checked out from there.” Arnold throws his head back and rubs his face. “God how I hate working at that place.”

“Helga rubs his thigh as she gives him a sympathetic look. “Well, who knows, if I ever get that book done that I’m working on maybe it will become a best seller then you won’t have to spend your summers working for my dad anymore.”

“Now THAT would be a dream come true.” He says as he leans in and gives her a deep kiss. 

She throws her hands out in front of her, her signal to him that she needs help up. He stands in front of her and pulls her off the couch.

“Come on.” She says as she takes him by the hand and leads him out of the room. 

“Where are we going?” He questions.

“Well, we did have a fight earlier, and you know what they say, the best kind of sex…….”

“Is make-up sex.” He says, finishing her sentence with a smile on his face.


	8. Chapter 8

Helga sits in her obstetrician’s waiting room absentmindedly flipping through a two year old copy of “Today’s Parent” magazine. Arnold sits nervously next to her, the supposedly calming music that’s being pumped into the waiting room having no effect on him. His hands sit in his lap as one foot shakes rapidly up and down. He stares around the room and notices that he is the only guy amid a sea of pregnant ladies. Whenever one of them happens to catch his eye he turns his gaze quickly away and pretends to notice something very interesting on the ceiling. 

Finally Helga reaches over, placing a hand on his shaking leg to stop it.

“Will you calm down!” She whispers.

“I’m trying.” He whispers back, a little louder than necessary. He readjusts his volume and says softer, “I’m trying, but it just feels weird being the only guy in the room. It’s like they’re all looking at me as if I represent all males everywhere and are blaming me for their discomfort.”

“Stop being ridiculous. They’re probably all just jealous because my husband came with me for my appointment and theirs didn’t.”

They sit for another couple of minutes in awkward silence when Arnold leans over and whispers to her. “You’re being awfully calm about all of this. Aren’t you worried about what the doctor’s going to say?”

She gives him a slight glare. “Of course I’m worried but there’s nothing I can do about anything right now. Criminy, I knew I should have left you at home.”

“Yeah, right, there’s no way I was going to miss this appointment.”

“I told you I would tell you everything the doctor said didn’t I?”

“Yes, but I’m more concerned about what you might conveniently forget to say.”

She’s slowly growing angry now and looks him in the eye. “Do you seriously think I’d do anything that would jeopardize our baby’s health?”

“Not consciously, no, but I just want to make sure nothing gets left out by mistake.”

“So you don’t trust me?”

“No, I didn’t say that. I’m just saying, when people are nervous they tend to forget specifics and important details can be left out.”

“So you don’t trust me. Fine.”

Exasperated, Arnold just throws his hands up in the air and grabs an old magazine from off the side table. “Whatever you say, Helga. I’m done arguing with you.”

“Fine!” Helga snaps as she flips through her magazine without really looking at the pages.

A half an hour goes by before the door finally opens and Helga hears her name.

“Helga Shortman?” A petite nurse in colorful scrubs calls. 

Arnold gets up and grabs Helga’s hands as she holds them out for him. A few chuckles can be heard from the remaining ladies that sit waiting, bringing a slight blush to his cheeks.

The nurse leads Helga to a scale, motioning her to step on up. Helga cringes at the ten pounds she’s put on since her last visit. Arnold peeks over her shoulder and raises his eyebrows when he notices the jump in weight. 

Helga steps off the scale and the couple follow the nurse into an exam room where she asks Helga to take a seat up on the exam table. Arnold pulls a chair over and sits next to her. 

“So,” the nurse starts as she fits a blood pressure cuff onto Helga’s arm, “Any changes or concerns you want to talk to the doctor about when she comes in?”

“Well, actually…” Arnold starts to say as Helga speaks over him.

“Actually, yes, there is.” Helga gives Arnold a ‘Back Off’ look. “I’ve been noticing a puffiness in my face and hands over the past week or so and just recently I’ve been feeling dizzy every now and then. And every once in a while my vision gets a little blurry.” She looks at Arnold for his reaction to this last bit of news, she hadn’t told him about the blurred vision yet. 

The nurse gives her a look of concern. “Oh?” she says, “How long has the dizziness and blurred vision been going on?”

“Just within the last couple of days.” She can feel Arnold’s eyes baring down on her.

The nurse finishes taking Helga’s blood pressure and jots some notes down in her file. Smiles and tells them that the doctor will be in soon.

When she leaves, Helga turns to Arnold and starts to speak but he cuts her off.

“Save it, Helga, I don’t want to hear any more excuses.”

She closes her mouth and they sit, uncomfortable in each other’s silence, as they wait. 

After what felt like an eternity they finally hear a small knock on the door as the doctor lets herself into the room. Smiling, she walks over to where Helga sits.

“Ah, Helga, it’s so good to see you again.” She looks at Arnold and her smile widens. “Mr. Shortman, I’m so glad you could make it to Helga’s appointment.”

Getting up to shake her hand Arnold shoots Helga a look, “Oh, I wouldn’t miss this check-up. As a matter of fact, I plan on coming to all the rest of her appointments too.”

“Wonderful!” The doctor says as she turns her attention to Helga’s chart. 

As the doctor reads the nurse’s notes her eyebrows start to furrow. “Hmm, it seems you’ve put on a bit more weight then we’d like to see this past month.” She takes Helga’s hands into her own. “But I’m more concerned with the swelling and dizziness you’ve been experiencing.”

 

She looks up to Helga’s face now, noticing the puffiness in her cheeks. “Have you experienced any spotting or what might feel like contractions lately?”

Arnold’s eyes open wide as he gives Helga a worried look.

Reassuring both Arnold and the doctor Helga waves a hand out in front of her. “No! No, nothing like that. I have been tired and my back gets sore every now and then but nothing like cramps or contractions.” 

She reaches for Arnold’s hand and he takes it as she looks him in the eye. “Honest, I swear.” She says to him. 

Satisfied, the doctor continues. “Your blood pressure is a little higher than we’d like to see too. You normally wouldn’t be due for another physical exam until your next appointment but I think, to be on the safe side, I’d like to examine you now.”

She reaches into a drawer and pulls out a folded up sheet for Helga to cover her bottom half with. “Here, please remove everything from the waist down. I’ll be back in in a few minutes.”

It’s hard for Helga to contain her worry now and a small tear starts to slide down her cheek as she removes her clothes. Arnold helps her back up onto the examining table and spreads the sheet neatly over her lap.

He holds her face in his hands and wipes her tear away with his thumb. “Don’t worry, Helga, it’s going to be okay, she’s just being cautious.”

“I know.” Helga says, “but it’s hard not to.”

The doctor comes back in and asks Helga to lay back.”

As the doctor guides Helga’s feet into the stirrups she stares up at the poster the nurses have attached to the ceiling above her head. “RELAX” it says in soft baby blue letters that are spread across a green field dotted with flowers. The touch of her doctor’s fingers causes Helga to jump a bit which, in turn startles Arnold. Seeing the look on Arnold’s face causes Helga to let out a giggle.

Their focus is brought back to the matter at hand when they hear the doctor give a quiet “Hmmm.”

“What is it?” Arnold asks, “Is there something wrong?”

The doctor gets up and walks over to the sink. She removes her gloves and washes her hands. Looking at Helga she says, “You can go ahead and get dressed, when I come back we can discuss our next steps.”

After the doctor has stepped out of the room Helga turns to Arnold. “What do you think that was all about? Why wouldn’t she say anything?”

“I don’t know.” Is all Arnold can say as he hands Helga her clothes. “Here, get dressed, we’ll find out in a minute what’s going on.”

The whole time Helga is getting dressed she keeps saying over and over to herself, “Don’t let it be that, anything but that. Not what Miriam had.” 

When the doctor returns she takes a seat and gives them her diagnosis. 

“I have some good news, and some not so good news for you. I’m glad I decided on examining you today instead of waiting for your next appointment because it seems that you have already started to dilate.”

Helga starts to panic and the doctor is quick to calm her down.

“Now, you’re only at one centimeter so that alone is nothing to get too upset over, as long as it doesn’t progress. What we do have a problem with, though, is your swelling along with the sudden dizziness and blurred vision. Also, your blood pressure is higher than I’d like to see it. All this, combined with your family history, points to a condition called Preeclampsia.”

“No!” Helga yells as she gets to her feet, “No, Miriam had Preeclampsia, twice, and both times she lost her babies.” She turns and looks at Arnold. “I can’t lose this baby!” 

She leans into Arnold’s chest as he wraps his arms around her. “Shhh,” His hand nervously shakes as he strokes her hair, “Let the doctor finish.”

“Thank you,” the doctor says as she gently continues. “The good news here is that what we’re seeing her right now are just the warning signs. We’ve caught it early, your symptoms are mild and with proper care they can be managed. There’s no reason you won’t be able to carry this baby to full term.”

Arnold holds on to Helga’s hand as they both sit down, their attention still on the doctor.

“First, I’m going to give you a lab slip for a blood and urine test. Next I want you to get yourself a home blood pressure machine. You can get them at most drug stores and they’re pretty inexpensive. I want you to take your blood pressure three times a day and keep a record of it. If it starts to raise I want to see you back here immediately. I don’t want you to do anything to exert yourself. I don’t feel you need to be put on bed rest yet but if things get worse that will be the case. Lastly, I want to see you in my office once a week for a check-up until the baby comes.”

Helga sits in her chair, trying to wrap her head around everything the doctor is saying. It’s Arnold that takes it all in, storing the instructions to memory. 

As the doctor gets up to leave she hands Arnold a lab slip and a written set of instructions. Turning to Helga she says reassuringly, “I know it’s easier said than done, but try not to worry. There’s no reason you can’t have a healthy, full term baby.”

Arnold thanks the doctor for the both of them and wraps his arm around Helga’s waist as they leave the building heading towards the car. Once seated in the passenger seat Helga loses her control and breaks down sobbing. Arnold just sits and holds her, letting her get it all out. 

When she’s finished crying he hands her a couple of tissues and brushes the hair back from her face. He gives her a little smile. 

“You feel better now?” He asks her.

She shakes her head yes and heaves a big sigh. “Yeah, I do.”

Arnold helps her with her seatbelt and she gives him a smile. “You know, I’m glad you came with me today. I don’t think I could have gone through that without you there.”

“I’m glad I came too, and it seems like I’m going to have my work cut out for me over the next couple of months. Be prepared to be spoiled beyond belief, Mrs. Shortman.”

“Oh yeah?” she says through a smile, “I think I could get used to that.”


	9. Chapter 9

They sit quietly in the car, each one lost in their own thoughts as they mull over what the doctor said. She thinks of the stories her parents always told whenever the obvious age spread between her and her sister came up. It’s a story she’s heard many a time but never really gave any thought to until she finally became pregnant. 

To Big Bob the perfect life consisted of a thriving business, a dutiful wife, a big house and two kids. First a son to carry on the Pataki name, and then a daughter just to round things out. When Miriam became pregnant with Olga he just assumed she would be a boy. And why not, since everything else in his life always went according to plan. As the pregnancy progressed he would always refer to the baby as “He”, and when Miriam would point out the fact that there was just as equal a chance that it could be a girl he would always brush her off. 

It wasn’t as common back then to find out the sex of the baby beforehand so when the doctor held Olga up and said, “Congratulations, it’s a girl!” Bob let out a bellow.

“Whaaaaat! That can’t be right, check again.” 

“Oh I’m positive.” The doctor said as he handed Olga off to the nurses to be checked over and cleaned up. 

Bob was a bit put out at first but pretty soon his love for Olga kicked in and she quickly became his little princess.

A few years later Miriam presented him with the good news that she was, once again, pregnant. “This time for sure it will be a boy.” Bob thought as he hugged his wife. Just like with her first pregnancy, he took to calling the baby a “He” and even went so far as to having Olga refer to the child as “Baby Brother”.

Everything was progressing as expected for the first six months but this time, come around the start of Miriam’s seventh month things started to take a turn. She started swelling up more with this pregnancy than she did when she was carrying Olga. It came on sudden and the symptoms progressed rapidly. By the time she could get in to see her doctor she had started spotting and was put on immediate bed rest. Although she had followed the doctor’s instructions to the tee it just wasn’t enough and it was on a rainy afternoon in March that she had lost their second child to what was come to be diagnosed as preeclampsia. 

It had been the boy that Bob had so desperately wanted. He had blamed Miriam for their loss, erroneously claiming that she didn’t take good enough care of herself and if she had been more alert to her symptoms then they wouldn’t have lost the baby. 

It took almost a full year for Bob to get over their loss, but eventually he was able to put it behind him by burying himself in his work. It was around this time that he began putting in longer hours and spending less time at home. Miriam didn’t mind this so much because in her mind the less time Bob spent at home the less time she spent under his thumb. 

Olga, on the other hand, missed her daddy and hungered for his attention. She found that the better she became at things the more he would notice her so thus began her constant strive for perfection in everything she did. 

As soon as things around the old homestead became routine again Bob and Miriam tried a third time for that baby boy. It took her a little longer this time to become pregnant but she eventually did. They made the decision to find out the sex ahead of time and Bob was elated to hear that it was, once again, a boy. 

Afraid of what it would do to Bob to lose a second son, Miriam did everything she could to take care of herself. Bob treated her like a queen, even going so far as to hire a nanny to watch Olga, and a maid to take care of all the household chores so all Miriam had to do was concentrate on providing him with a healthy baby boy. 

Once again everything was going along like clockwork until Miriam hit that seven month mark. This time at the first sign of swelling she immediately called the doctor who promptly put her on total bedrest. She did everything she was told but it was no use. It was in the wee hours of the morning when Miriam delivered their stillborn son at home, just minutes before the ambulance arrived to take her to the hospital. 

It was after the second miscarriage that Miriam was advised against any further attempts at childbirth. The risk to her health was just too great. This was not what she and Bob had wanted to hear but they took the doctor’s advice and became resigned to the fact that they would always just be a family of three. No son for Bob, no child to carry on the Pataki name. Concerned over Miriam’s health, Bob even went so far as to assure a fourth pregnancy would not happen by seeing his doctor and getting a vasectomy.

Unfortunately for them, it turned out that the vasectomy was not properly done and therefore not a complete success. It took a couple of years for it to happen but eventually one of Bob’s little guys got through and, on a warm night in late June, little Helga G. Pataki was conceived. 

Not wanting to lose Miriam, Bob had tried to talk her into an abortion but she would not hear of it. Fortunately for them this pregnancy went just like her first. Everything ran smoothly and by late March they finally welcomed in their second child. 

Not wanting to go through another surprise pregnancy, and with Bob already going through one botched vasectomy, Miriam made the decision to have her tubes tied before even leaving the hospital, thus closing the book on that chapter of their lives.

With Helga being a girl and not the coveted boy Bob so desperately desired, he took very little interest in raising her. As Helga got older and more aware she realized that when she acted more tomboyish and less girly her father would take notice of her. So she put aside her dolls for things like baseballs and footballs. She became very good at most sports, surpassing a lot of the boys in her class. She emulated her dad, becoming loud and aggressive, keeping her softer, gentler self, hidden from those around her.

She’s pulled from her daydream as Arnold’s hand grabs onto her shoulder, gently shaking it.

“Hey, Earth to Helga.” He says as they sit at a red light.

Blinking her eyes she turns her attention towards him. “Huh? Did you say something?”

“Uh, yeah, I asked you if you were hungry.” He gives her a questioning look. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just letting my mind wander I guess. That was a lot to take in back there.”

“Yes, it was, but don’t worry, we can handle this, it’s all going to be okay.” He says through a reassuring smile. “Soooo, you never answered me, are you hungry?”

She gives the question a quick thought. “Yeah, actually, I am a bit hungry.”

“Okay, well, if you’re up for a drive, I think I know the perfect place for us right now.”

“Oh really now?” She gives him a suspicious look. “And where would that be?”

“I’m not going to tell you. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.” He turns up the music as he gets on the expressway, heading out of town.

 

After a good hour and a half of driving she begins to catch on to where he’s heading. 

“We’re headed to the ocean.” She says more as a statement than a question. 

He looks over towards her and smiles. “Yep. What better place to destress than the beach.” 

When she doesn’t answer right away he gets a bit worried that he’s made a poor choice. 

“Right?” He asks, now unsure of himself.

She looks at him, her smile growing wide. “Absolutely! I can’t think of a better place I’d rather be right now. How’d you know?”

He deepens his voice as he holds a hand out in front of him. “Because I am Arnoldo the Great! I see all and know all!”

She giggles at his silliness, knowing full well that he is acting like that for her benefit.

“Well, Arnoldo….”

“Arnoldo the Great!” He says, cutting her off.

She clears her throat, “Well, Arnoldo the Great, what am I thinking right now?”

He glances over to her then furrows his brow as if in deep thought. He places the index finger of his right hand to his temple. “I’m getting something………..you’re thinking – you’re thinking that you have the best, most awesome, sexiest husband in the whole world!”

She gives a small clap. “Well what do you know, you can read minds. What other things can the Great Arnoldo do?”

He gives her a look of disapproval. “It’s Arnoldo the Great, will you get it right?”

“Excuuuuuse Me! What other things can you do, Arnoldo the Great?”

“Ahhhhh,” He says, giving her a wink, “I can do great things, A-MAAAAZING things.”

“Like?”

“I can make strong, powerful women grow weak at the knees with just one kiss, and see these?” He holds up his right hand again, wiggling his fingers.

She gives him a questioning look. “Yeees, I see them.”

“With just one touch I can have you screaming in ecstasy, begging for more.”

“You don’t say? Will I get to experience any of these feats of greatness?”

“Perhaps, if I deem you worthy enough. We’ll have to wait and see.”

“Hmm, well, I’m looking forward to finding out.”

A few minutes later they’ve reached their destination. It’s an exclusive little harbor town that they discovered a few summers back during one of their rare get a ways. They had taken a car trip down the coast starting at their home state of Washington and ending up in the small, but beautiful, town of La Jolla, California. It was on their way back home when Arnold decided to skip his Google Maps app and throw caution to the wind. The result was ending up in an off the beaten path type of town that consisted of a few antique shops specializing in mostly ocean themed goods, three or four small restaurants, one higher end restaurant, and then various businesses like the local drug store, supermarket, post office, etc. There were no big hotels, but there were, what Helga described as, “The quaintest little beachfront cottages you ever saw.” 

Back then they were in a hurry to get home from their long car trip so they only took a few minutes to give the town a quick once over, but it was always a desire of theirs to return some day and take their time exploring the little hamlet. 

Arnold now pulls up to a small fish and chips restaurant that he remembered from their last visit. It is actually more of a fish and chips shack than a restaurant, with a walk-up window where you order your food, and a second one for collecting your freshly cooked meal. There are picnic style tables around the side of the restaurant that sit under a gazeebo type covering. The tables look out towards a beach of fine sand that is littered with various pieces of sun washed driftwood. Being a weekday the beach is deserted save for the few shore birds that play keep away with the waves as they poke the sand, searching for sand crabs and other delicious morsels. 

They place their order and take a seat at one of the tables, waiting for their number to be called. Helga leans towards Arnold, resting her head on his shoulder.

“I can’t believe you remembered this place.” She says, not taking her eyes off the view in front of them.

“How could I forget it? You must have gone on for at least a half an hour last time talking about how much you loooove fish and chips and how good you bet the food tastes and how we just haaad to come back here someday.”

She elbows him lightly. “I didn’t make that big of a deal out of it.”

He kisses the top of her head, “Whatever you say, Helga.”

Their number is called and Arnold gets up to retrieve their food. Once the food is served up Helga digs in. Grabbing a battered covered piece of Cod, she takes a bite. Her eyes roll up towards the sky in delight.

“Oh my Gawd!” She says, her mouth full of fish, “This is even better than I imagined it to be!”

“It is pretty tasty.” Arnold agrees.

They spend the next few minutes in silence as they devour their meal. Helga watches the waves as Arnold gets lost in his phone. When he starts getting texts she becomes curious as to what he’s up to. 

“Hey, Arnoldo the Great, you have this whole, beautiful ocean in front of you and you’re spending all your time on the phone. What gives?”

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll find out soon enough.” Is all he’ll tell her. 

After a good twenty minutes he puts his phone in his pocket and gives her a smile.

“So, you want to take a walk along the beach?” He asks.

“Sure, we can walk off the huge lunch we just ate.”

After Arnold throws away their trash he helps Helga up from the picnic table and they walk hand in hand to the shore line. Looking in both directions Helga asks, “Which way, north or south?”

“Hmmm, let’s go south.” Arnold says as he turns, pulling her along.

The sun is hot on their backs as they walk arm in arm, through the shallow water. It laps at their feet as it reaches out, washing over their ankles before retreating back from where it came. The birds scoot out of their way, seemingly unbothered by the interruption the couple makes to their quest for food. After they’ve walked about a quarter of a mile they come across a scattering of beach cottages set far enough back in the sand to avoid the high tide. Arnold leads her to one and they sit on the steps that lead from the cottage’s deck to the sand. He tells her to sit tight for a few minutes and rushes off leaving her alone on the steps.

“Hey! Where are you going?” She yells at his back as he runs off.

“You’ll see.” Is all he’ll say as he disappears around the side of the small house.

She waits for a good half an hour before she starts to worry. She’s just starting to think about going to go find him when he finally comes walking up to her.

“It’s about time.” She says, not bothering to hide her irritation. 

He sits down next to her, a mischievous grin on his face. Kissing her cheek, he holds up a set of keys in front of her face. “For you.” He says.

She raises an eyebrow, giving him a confused look. “Huh? What’re those?”

“Their keys, Doi.” He says, shaking them in front of her.

“I can see that, what are they to?”

“Well, actually, they’re to this beach house.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“What I mean is, while you were stuffing your face with battered fish, I was being productive and did some research and rented us a beach house for a couple of nights. I arranged to meet with the property manager and while you were sitting here I met the guy up by the front bungalow and got the keys.”

“Arnold! Are you crazy? We can’t afford this. And what about clothes and toiletries and food and….”

He puts an arm around her and pulls her closer to him. “Don’t worry about it, we haven’t been on a vacation in two years. We can totally afford this. Plus, anything we need we can get at the market.” Through a leer he adds, “Besides, there’s a washer and dryer in the unit, we can wash our clothes at night. We won’t be needing them.” 

“What about work? You still have the rest of the week to finish out at the electronics emporium.”

“It’s all taken care of. I told Bob I was going to have to quit work a week early so I actually have the rest of the week to take care of you before having to start back up at the high school.”

Without being able to come up with any other reasons as to why they couldn’t spend the next two days at their little beach hide a way, she takes the keys from Arnold, and, walking around to the front entrance of the house, they let themselves in.


	10. Chapter 10

The front of the little cottage faces a quiet street. The neighboring cottages on either side of theirs are far enough away to give them the feeling that they are alone. They walk up a few steps to the front porch which wraps around to the deck out back. They unlock the front door and step into a small entry hall. Off to the right is another hall that leads to a full size bathroom that sits between two bedrooms. There is a master bedroom with a king size bed. The sliding glass door that exits to the back deck gives them a full view of the ocean. The second bedroom is smaller and sits at the street side of the house. In the wall opposite the bathroom is a closet that holds a small apartment size washer and dryer.

Off to the other side of the entry way sits a fair size open kitchen/dining room combo. The kitchen is fully equipped with all new appliances. A breakfast bar separates the kitchen from the small dining area. The fabric on the three tall stools that sit at the breakfast bar match that of the chairs that surround the dining room table. Just past the dining area is the living room. Against the dining room side wall is a large couch that faces a gas powered fireplace. There is a plush easy chair with a matching ottoman next to it. 

The house is decorated in shades of light tan, with ocean blues and greens throughout. On one wall sits an anchor made of driftwood and draped in an old piece of fisherman’s netting. On the wall in back of the couch hangs a tin sculpture made to look like a school of fish casually swimming along. There is a large picture window at the far end of the living room that looks out onto the ocean. Next to that sits a sliding glass door that opens up to the back deck. Stepping out on to the deck there is a small, round table with four chairs and an umbrella that sticks up from its center. Two Adirondack chairs and lounge chair face the ocean. 

They sit in the Adirondack chairs for a while taking in the ocean that is spread out before them. The waves are small but constant as they break onto the sand. The sound is intoxicating, relaxing them almost instantaneously. Arnold reaches out and holds her hand as they sit, comfortable in each other’s silence. Helga gives out a big yawn and finds it hard to keep her eyes open. Arnold notices this and gives her a nudge.

“Hey,” he says, getting her attention. “You look like you need a nap.”

Through another yawn Helga says, “Yeah, it’s been a long morning, I think I could do with a short cat nap.”

Standing, Arnold grabs Helga’s hands, helping her up. “Tell ya what, why don’t I run into town and get us a few supplies while you take a nap. I shouldn’t be but an hour or so. Then when I get back we can explore the town or something.”

Helga kisses his cheek, “I think I’ll take the ‘or something’”.

“You would.” He says as they head back inside.

Tucking her in to bed he kisses her forehead and promises not to be too long. She is asleep before he’s even left the house.

He walks the half a mile to the fish and chips stand where they had left their car. Getting in he slowly drives around the small town getting his bearings. He finds a drug store and remembers what the doctor said about Helga’s blood pressure and stops in to pick up an at home monitor. He finds one that looks pretty simple to use then also picks up a small notebook to go along with it. 

After the drug store he hits up the town’s only supermarket for the rest of their supplies. An hour later he is back at the house just as promised. 

He walks into the bedroom and finds her just where he left her. She’s rolled to one side now, facing the window that looks out to the ocean, the extra pillow from the bed has been placed under her belly for support. He looks at her face and watches her as she sleeps. She looks almost angelic to him and he finds himself wanting her, right there, right now. 

“God, what is this hold she has over me?” He thinks to himself as he pulls his shirt up over his head. Standing bare chested, still looking down at her, his breathing becomes heavier and all of a sudden his mere desire has turned in to an uncontrolled urgency. Tearing off the rest of his clothes he slips under the covers coming up behind her. His one elbow supports him as his other hand runs up and down her hip before sliding up under her dress. He runs his hand over their baby that lies protected inside of her. He’s glad little Arnelga won’t be able to see what he’s about to do to her. He starts kissing her neck as his hand wanders up to her breasts. They are swollen from being pregnant and very sensitive, so the slightest touch from him is enough to awaken her. Without opening her eyes she grinds back into him.

“Mmmm,” She says, “It must be Arnoldo the Great come to show me some of his magic. I see you brought your wand with you this time.”

“Yes, and a very powerful wand it is.” He lets his tongue slide up and down her neck as he slips off her dress. 

“Oh yeah? Elder wood?” She asks through a smile.

“No.” He says as he unhooks her bra. “Cherry. Thirteen inches, with a Unicorn hair core.”

She laughs at the description. “Thirteen inches? Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?” 

He holds her closer to him as he slips off her, as she calls them, ‘preggo granny panties’. “Maybe, but not by much.”

“I just have one question.” 

“Yes?” He breathes in her ear.

“Why Neville’s wand?”

“Why not? We all know he’s the real hero of the story.” He bites her shoulder causing her to let out a surprised gasp.

He pushes against her, his voice getting small and persuasive. “Aren’t you going to let me in?”

“I don’t know,” She teases, “What’s the magic word?”

He leans in close, his lips touching her ear, and whispers, “Alohomora.”

With a laugh she unlocks the gate, allowing him in to her castle.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

An hour later Helga sits at one of the tall bar stools as Arnold fixes them a dinner of poached salmon with red potatoes and wild rice. She’s fumbling with the blood pressure monitor that Arnold had picked up at the drug store.

She holds the part that goes around her arm up, swinging it in a circle. “How often am I supposed to use this thing again?” 

“Three times a day. And I bought a little notebook for keeping track of the readings too.”

“Ugh, what a pain in the butt.”

“Yeah, well, it’s either that or complete bed rest and I know you don’t want that, so buck up and don’t complain.”

She sticks her tongue out at him as she throws the arm cuff back onto the counter. She takes in a deep breath smelling the food Arnold is cooking.

“Man, you’re not only magic in the bedroom, you’re pretty good in the kitchen too. It’s a good thing one of us can cook.”

“You’re coming along and getting better, notwithstanding your last dinner, that is.”

“Hey! I put my heart and soul into that dinner. It just happened to get away from me.”

“Sure, sure.” He says while handing her some silverware and napkins. “Now, make yourself useful and set the table.”

She slides off the bar stool and arranges the napkins and silverware at their seats. She sits down and speaks in her queenly voice.

“I’m ready for my meal now. How much longer must I wait?”

“It’s almost ready,” He replies, “just keep your panties on. Oh, wait, I forgot. I charmed them off you, so you can’t.”

“Very funny.” She scoffs. 

Just then the timer goes off, signaling Arnold to check on the salmon. 

“Ahhh, it’s looking good, just a few more minutes.” He says as he pokes at the fish with a fork.

The smell of the fish makes Helga’s stomach rumble. “I’mmmmm soooo hangry!” She cries.

Arnold walks to the table with a bowl of salad and some fresh bread. 

“Here, we can start with this while we wait for the salmon to finish.”

Helga grabs some bread, smothering it in butter and takes a huge bite. “Ohmygodthisissogood!” she says with her mouth full.

“Geez, didn’t your parents teach you any manners?”

“No.” She says, “I was raised in a barn, we all had to fend for ourselves, it was eat or be eaten.”

“Riiight. You forget, we grew up together. I admit, your bedroom may have been a pig sty, but your house was far from being a barn.”

“A pig sty! Heh, you never complained about my room whenever you came sneaking through my window at night.”

“That’s because I had other things on my mind.”

“I’m still amazed that trellis you’d climb to get into my window never broke. You could have broken your neck.”

“Yeah, well, it was worth the risk.” He said, giving her a quick wink.

Once dinner was over Arnold insisted that Helga should rest as he cleans up. She walks out to the back deck and sits on the steps that lead down to the sand. The sun hangs low in the sky working its way down towards the horizon. Arnold finally joins her and they sit watching the sunset together. 

“There’s nothing like a beautiful beach sunset for helping one to forget their troubles.” Helga says as she leans against Arnold.

“I know what you mean. Well, you just keep working on becoming a rich and famous author then someday we can buy a fancy house on some secluded beach somewhere. We can watch the sun set over the ocean every night.”

She places a hand on his knee and gives it a squeeze. “Okay, I’ll get right on that. Give me a week and I’ll have us rolling in the dough.”

The get up and walk down to the water. The tide is low so they are able to walk further out then they could earlier. The receding tide has uncovered a multitude of shells and rocks that were previously hidden. Helga spies a heart shaped rock and tries to bend down to get it. Seeing her struggle Arnold steps in and picks it up.

“Well, well, look at what I found.” He says, holding the rock just out of her reach.

“Hey, I saw it first!” Helga says, reaching out for it.

Arnold raises his hand, holding it above her head. She stretches for it but it’s no use, he’s just too tall.

“There used to be a time when you were shorter than me, you’d never have been able to get away with this back in the day.”

“That’s what happens when you eat your vegetables.” He says.

“Fine, keep the stupid old rock.” She says petulantly, crossing her arms in front of her. “I didn’t really want it anyway.”

“Okay, I think I will keep it.” He puts it in his pocket for safe keeping and picks up a perfectly formed seashell. It’s conical in shape, white and bumpy on the outside with a smooth, pink interior. It starts with a small peak over a rounded top that narrows down to a point. It’s about half the size of Helga’s palm. He holds it up to his ear and listens intently.

“Ohhh, what do you hear?” She asks playfully.

“Shhh, it’s the sound of the sea. It beckons to me.” 

“I’d be careful if I were you.” She warns, “It could be the call of the Siren. They go for handsome guys you know.”

“I – I can’t resist.” He says as he turns to walk out into the water.”

“No!” She yells, “You must resist! If they get their hands on you they’ll turn you in to sea foam!”

“If there were only something to break their spell.” He talks as if he’s in a trance.

“I will save you!” She says, taking the shell from his hand and grabbing the collar of his shirt. She pulls him to her and plants her lips on his.

He kisses her back as he giggles, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

She pulls back looking him in the eye. “Did it work? Are the voices gone?”

He tilts his head to one side as if listening for a sound. “I think so. That was close. Thank you, I was afraid I was a goner there for a minute.”

Helga puffs out her chest and points her thumb at herself. “Naw, ain’t no Si-reens gonna take my man away from me, no siree, not this Helga G. Shortman!”

Arnold smiles and pulls her in to a hug. “My hero.” 

As he holds her he notices her starting to shiver.

“Hey, we’d better get you back up to the house and warm you up, you’re shivering.”

Reluctantly she agrees and they walk hand in hand back to the little beach house. It’s dark now and they use the light of the moon to guide their path. 

Once inside they sit wrapped up in a blanket together in front of the gas powered fireplace, mugs of hot chocolate in hand.

“You know,” She says, “This day started off really horribly but thanks to you I just couldn’t have asked for a better ending. I still can’t believe we’re here, I mean I still can’t figure out how you were able to arrange all of this on the spur of the moment like you did. Thank you.”

He stares into her eyes then places a gentle kiss on her forehead. “That’s because you keep forgetting, I am Arnoldo the Great, purveyor of making all your dreams come true.” 

The warmth from the fireplace, combined with a big dinner and evening stroll, has made her tired. She tries to stifle a big yawn.

He gets up and holds his hands out to her. “Come on, its past Arnelga’s bedtime.”

Wanting to stay, but too tired to put up a fight she relents and lets him help her up.

“Just out of curiosity,” she says as they head to the bedroom, “do you still happen to have your wand with you?”

Placing his arm around her the corners of his mouth turn up in a small smile. “I never leave home without it.”


	11. Chapter 11

He starts to stir, his ears are filled with the sound of waves gently breaking on the sand. Disoriented, he slowly opens his eyes and remembers where he is. The previous day comes back to him and he inhales deeply before slowly letting the breath out. He is laying spooned up against his wife, his legs entangled with hers, one arm draped over her torso. He buries his face into the back of her neck. The smell of her hair mixed with the salty air combines with the sounds of the ocean outside their window, lulling him into a daze, causing the world to stand still for the briefest moment in time. He is content and blissfully happy. 

He lets his mind wander and it lands on a time back in his childhood. They were fifth graders and it was recess. He was sitting on one of the bars of the jungle gym, his back against another one. He was surrounded by a couple of his guy pals just passing the time waiting for the bell to ring. He scans the yard not really paying attention to the conversations and he spies an eleven year old Helga across the playground, sitting alone on a bench by the side of the auditorium. She is intently writing in a small journal type book and he wonders what it is that has her so captivated. 

After a moment their friend Eugene walks between him and Helga and stops suddenly. Arnold’s attention is turned fully to him now. He follows Eugene’s gaze and sees one of the bigger, rougher sixth graders standing in front of him blocking his path. As Eugene moves to the right to go around him the sixth grader sidesteps in front of him blocking him once again. A touch of fear starts to show on Eugene’s face and Arnold wonders if he should step in and do something to help.

Before he’s even had the chance to finish the thought he sees Helga place her book into her backpack before standing up and storming over to the middle of the playground. Without being noticed by Eugene she stands behind him, her fists balled up at her sides. She stares the sixth grade bully down, her eyes boring into his. 

Her reputation for being tough herself precedes her, and not wanting to have to deal with any of her craziness the sixth grader looks from her to Eugene and decides it’s not worth the trouble. So, instead of pounding Eugene, he merely knocks his books out of his hands and walks away. As Eugene gathers his spilled books Helga quietly walks back to the bench she was sitting at. Eugene never knew how she had come to his rescue.

Arnold sat and watched the whole scene take place. He wondered how many other times Helga had come to the rescue of their classmates without their knowledge. He wonders if she’s ever helped him like that without him ever having realized it. He thinks about how unfair it is that she must put up with being talked about behind her back, or being told things like she’s not a girl because she’s too much of a tomboy yet when she tries to hang out with the boys they tell her she can’t because she’s a girl. 

He tries to tell people that she’s not really how she appears on the outside, but they just laugh it off and don’t listen. On occasion he’s tried to reach out to her, to tell her that he knows how she really is but its either pride or embarrassment that causes her to push him away. So he’s happy that she has at least one friend she can turn to, her best friend Phoebe, who is probably the only other kid in school that knows the real Helga.

Something stirred within him that day and if he was ever asked to try and pinpoint the exact time and place that he first fell in love with Helga, it would have to be that very moment. He was still way too young to know how to handle such feelings, so he just carried them around with him, letting them grow and mature. 

He never told anyone what he saw, not even Helga herself. It was his own private memory and he guarded it, holding it close. Coming back to it time and time again whenever he needed a reminder of how caring she can be.

He lays in bed now, confident in the fact that he is the luckiest man in the world because he’s the one Helga has chosen to live the rest of her life with. 

He is torn from his thoughts when he feels a sudden movement under his arm. Little Arnelga has obviously woken up and is now turning summersaults inside of Helga. He sees what may be a foot, or possibly and elbow, protruding from the side of Helga’s belly and thinks about how uncomfortable it must be for his wife. Placing a hand over the protrusion he gently pushes causing the baby to give one good swift kick before finally settling back down. 

That last kick was enough to startle Helga awake and she gives a little jump as her hand comes up to where the baby kicked. Instead of finding her own flesh under her hand she finds Arnolds and wraps her fingers around his. Rolling on to her other side she faces him and smiles.

“Well, well, do my eyes deceive me? Is it Arnoldo the Great I see still gracing me with his presence?”

He kisses her forehead then leans his own against it. “But of course, where else would I have gone? After all, you are my favorite audience.”

She narrows her eyes at him. “I’d better be your only audience.” 

He hugs her now and laughs. “Of course you are, never anyone else but you.”

“Good.” She cuddles into his bare chest. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, like a log. How about you?”

“Yep.” She starts to say something about how she could stay right where she is forever, never moving when all of a sudden her stomach lets out a loud rumble. She blames it on the baby, saying that it must be hungry.

Arnold sits up and reaches for his boxers that had been dropped on the floor the night before. “Well then, I guess we should start thinking about breakfast.”

 

\------------------------

A half an hour later Arnold has made them a breakfast of eggs, over easy of course, bacon, toast and fruit. He brings it out to the back deck where Helga sits enjoying a mug of decaf. As they eat Arnold glances through a small stack of tourist flyers looking for something his pregnant wife can do. Obviously jet skiing and parasailing are out so he sets those flyers aside. He finds a particularly interesting one and opens it up to get all the details. As Helga sits watching a small plane fly by she concentrates on the words that are written on a bright banner that trails behind it. She doesn’t notice that Arnold has walked back inside the house with the brochure he had been reading.

After a few quick phone calls he has mapped out their day and heads back outside to get his wife up and moving. 

“You’ve been busy planning again, so what’s on the agenda for today?” Helga asks, her curiosity getting the better of her. 

“Well, I thought we’d spend the day in town window shopping and maybe getting some lunch. Then afterwards we can take a little drive.”

“A drive? Where to?”

He gives her a sly wink. “Don’t worry about it, it’s a surprise.”

“Well, with as wonderful as this surprise turned out to be I guess I can trust what you have planned next.”

“Good, now get up and let’s go, we’re burning daylight.”

As they walk to the car she trails behind a bit and notices him throwing some blankets into the backseat of the car. “Hmm, must be a picnic he’s got planned.” She thinks to herself. Not wanting to ruin his surprise she decides not to ask questions and just go along for the ride.

With the town being as small as it is it doesn’t take long to drive to its little Main Street area. Parking in an all-day lot they slowly start to walk down one side of the street. 

The first thing they come to is a small art gallery featuring displays from the local talent. They walk inside to a small lobby. The floors are of a highly polished hard wood. The trim around the doorways and windows match it perfectly. The white walls are dotted with large framed photographs of the local scenery. 

They stop and look at a particular one that has caught their eye. It’s a black and white of a little girl standing at the ocean shore with her back to the camera, her shadow trailing off behind her. In one hand is a bucket, and she holds a small plastic shovel in the other. Her hair is being blown to the side by the ocean breeze. She is looking out towards the waves that break off in the distance. The sun sparkles off the surface of the water like diamonds. They look at the picture and think about their own child and how one day maybe they’ll take a picture just like this one and have it hanging on their wall at home. 

There are a few doorways that lead off to various smaller display rooms, each one featuring a different artist. The first room they choose to go into displays the works of a local craftsman whose chosen medium is carved driftwood. They see a smaller version of the anchor that hangs on the wall of the house they are renting and bet it’s carved by the same artist. 

The next room features delicate water color paintings. Mostly ocean scenes but a few feature a local lighthouse that sits on private property. Having a fondness for lighthouses Helga looks at the price of one of the smaller paintings and quickly walks away. “Too rich for our blood.” She thinks to herself.

Once they’ve checked out the last of the rooms they head back to the main lobby. Helga notices some hand painted postcards on display on top of the sales counter. Flipping through them she finds a couple of the lighthouse that caught her eye earlier and buys them. She figures that if she can’t have the larger original hanging off her walls then she could at least frame a couple of the postcards and hang those instead. 

They leave the gallery and head back down the street. They discover a small antique shop and wander inside taking their time to look around. By the time they’ve walked both sides of the street, and stopped for a light lunch, it is late in the afternoon. 

They get in the car and Arnold drives them to the one higher end restaurant in town. Telling Helga to wait in the car he runs inside. Twenty minutes later he returns with a Styrofoam cooler under one arm and a plastic take out bag held in the other. Placing the items in the back seat they are once again on the road.

“I think you missed your calling.” Helga says as they drive along a winding road.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, with all these little surprises you’ve been conjuring up you should have been a party planner or something.”

“Naw, its only fun if I’m doing it for you. Besides, think of all those poor wayward students that would have to go without my help. It’d be a lost generation I tell you.”

“Heh, wayward students. You mean more like lovesick teenage girls looking for any reason to stop by your office.”

Helga’s statement makes Arnold blush. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play innocent, you know you and Gerald are the current hotties on campus. As far as most of the girls are concerned that is.”

In a way Helga’s assessment was correct. With both Arnold and Gerald not even 25 yet they were the newest and youngest teachers at Hillwood High. Combine that with their good looks and well-toned bodies they were the types of guys most teen-aged girls crushed over. Many is the time Arnold would come to his office and find a plate of fresh baked cookies or brownies with a note in very feminine handwriting with lots of hearts and flowers scrawled about the paper. With Gerald it is girls sitting at the top of the bleachers during basketball practice ogling him from afar.

Although they are both flattered by the attention, they know it is a very touchy subject and they must be careful at all times to not put themselves in any situations that can be misconstrued into something it’s not. This is why Arnold is always sure to leave the door to his office open any time a female student makes an appointment with him or just stops by to giggle and say hi. 

Deciding to tease Helga a bit Arnold nonchalantly says, “It’s more the single moms that worry me than the girls.”

“What!” Helga proclaims, taking the bait. “What moms have been coming on to you? Give me their names and I’ll take care of them.”

Arnold chuckles and pats her leg. “Relax, I’m just teasing.”

“You’re a brat, you know that?”

They hold hands as Arnold drives. It’s heading in to late afternoon and they are almost to their next destination. As they round a curve the ocean comes back in to view. They are headed to a small cove. The road follows the horseshoe curve of the land and ends at a dirt road that winds upwards to a cliff. At the top of the cliff sits a tall lighthouse. It is out of commission and has been years since it’s been used for its intended purpose. Now it’s mostly a tourist attraction. Attached to the lighthouse is a small building that at one time housed the people whose job it was to keep the lighthouse up and running. Currently it is used as a museum and starting point for docent led tours. Three days a week you can pay a small fee to be given a tour by a local “Friends of the Lighthouse” docent, the collected fees are used to pay for the upkeep of the structure and grounds.

Tonight, however, its purpose will be to provide Arnold and Helga the perfect spot for a romantic picnic dinner. 

They come to the end of the road and after getting out of the car they both stand and stare up to the top of the tall building. Its height and grandeur make them feel small and insignificant. Arnold gathers the items from the backseat of the car and he hands Helga the take out bag and one of the blankets while he takes the cooler and the other blanket.

A bit impressed, Helga can’t help but ask, “Okay, now how on earth did you manage this?” 

“A true magician never gives away his secrets so I can’t tell you. But, what I can tell you is that we have to be out of here by 9:00 because that’s when the groundskeeper will be back to lock up the place.”

“So we actually get to go inside?” 

“Yep, the door should be open.” Arnold tries turning the doorknob and is relieved to find that it turns easily in his hand.

It’s dark inside the building and after a bit of fumbling around Arnold finds the light switch and turns it on. They find themselves in the middle of a circular room. On the walls are photographs of the lighthouse during its heyday. The pictures depict the day to day life of a lighthouse operator. Placed about the room are artifacts with brief descriptions of what they are and their intended usage. In the center of the room sits a tall spiral staircase that leads up to the lantern room. The steps are made of metal and there is an ornate handrail that spirals up alongside them. Helga stands at the bottom of the staircase and looks up, a brief moment of vertigo runs through her.

“Umm, do you really expect us to haul all this stuff up that?” She says, pointing to the stairs.

“No, of course not. What I thought was that maybe we could try climbing the stairs so we can watch the sunset from the observation deck, then come back down here for dinner. Do you think that if we take it really slowly you’d be able to climb it?”

She contemplates it for a moment and decides that there’s no way she’s passing up an opportunity like this, “I think that if I stop to rest every so often and don’t take it in one shot I’ll be fine.”

Smiling, Arnold grabs one of the blankets and taking her hand, they start their journey up the staircase. “Now you tell me the minute you feel that you can’t make it, or that something doesn’t feel right, and we’ll stop and head back down.”

“Don’t worry, I will. I just hope we make it to the top before the sun sets.”

They take their time, stopping every so often at Arnold’s insistence to rest. After what feels like an eternity to Helga they finally reach the top. They step onto a platform that circles the staircase. The concrete walls having been replaced with windows providing a 360 degree view of the ocean beyond. There is another set of stairs that lead up to the tower where the lantern room is. Unfortunately that room is out of bounds to the couple so they turn their attention to the windows before them.

Arnold finds the door and, ever the gentleman, holds it open for his wife. Helga’s breath is taken away as she steps outside and takes in the spectacle before her.


	12. Chapter 12

Helga steps up to the railing and places her hands on the cold metal. The salty wind whips her hair about her face. Arnold comes up next to her, and having anticipated that it would be cold on the observation deck, wraps the blanket he brought around both their shoulders. Helga leans in close to him, wrapping an arm around his waist, holding her side of the blanket closed with her free hand. She is wearing flats so her head hits right at Arnold’s shoulder making that spot where Arnold’s arm meets his body the perfect place for it to rest. He rests his head on hers and the two just stand and stare for a moment, both at a loss for words.

The feeling is almost surreal as the sun slowly makes its decent. Its bright orange color paints the sky and clouds around it in hues of yellow, red and orange. The sound of the wind mixes with the call of seagulls as they head off to roost for the night. Along the water’s surface a large flock of pelicans glide low to the water. 

Arnold pulls his stare away from the sunset when he hears a small giggle escape from Helga. He looks at her, and smiles.

“What’s so funny?”

She looks at him with a bit of a blush.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, really.”

“Well it must be something for you to let out a giggle.”

“Actually, I was just thinking back. Remember when we were in, ummm, fourth grade I believe, and Rhonda came to school one morning with that silly marriage predictor thing she had made?”

It took a few seconds for Arnold to remember what she was talking about.

“You mean that folded paper thing where she asked you to say different numbers?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. She went around asking all the boys to take the test saying that it would undeniably determine who they were going to marry?”

“Yeah, I remember now.” Its Arnold’s turn to blush as he remembers taking the test himself. 

“Remember when she finally talked you in to taking the test?”

“Ha, ha, yeah, I must have made her give me the test like a hundred times, and each time it landed on you.”

“Yeah, and you insisted that there was no way you’d ever end up marrying me.”

“Well, what can I say, I was nine years old. Anyway, why would you think of that right now?”

“I remember talking to Phoebe a few days later, after Rhonda had made such a big deal of telling everyone how she had messed up and how her predictor was wrong. I was telling her about a dream I had about you and me that night right after she gave everyone the test.”

“Hey, I dreamt about us too that night!” Arnold chuckles as he remembers his dream. “I still don’t see what that has to do with right now.”

“I’m getting to that. After I told Phoebe about my dream she admitted that Rhonda had said to her ‘can you even imagine Arnold and Helga married?’”

“Hmm, I’m curious now. What was Phoebe’s response?”

“She admitted to having a daydream of you and me, married and standing at the railing of a tall lighthouse blissfully in love. I had forgotten all about it until just now.”

“You know what that means, Phoebe makes a better wedding predictor than Rhonda.”

“Hey, you’re right. I’ll have to tell her that.”

Turning their attention back towards the ocean the sun has now dipped just below the horizon. The brilliant reds and yellows have turned to softer shades of pink and purple from the darkening sky. 

They continue their vigil, watching as the night darkens and the first stars begin to light the velvety black sky.

“We’d better head back downstairs if we want time to have dinner before the grounds keeper comes to lock the place up.” Arnold says as he checks the time on his phone.

“I’d say I wish we could stay up here forever but I’m cold and hungry so I agree.”

The walk down goes much quicker than the walk up did and before too long they have reached the bottom room. Spreading out the two blankets on the floor they indulge in a five star picnic dinner.

By 9:00 they are on the road making their way back to their little rented beach house. With Helga asleep next to him as he drives Arnold puts a cd into the slot in the dashboard and listens to some quiet jazz, letting his memories drift back to the fourth grade and Rhonda’s wedding predictor. Laughing to himself over how adamant he was that he’d never, in his life, marry the woman that now shares his name and is carrying his child.

 

\--------------

 

The next morning Helga wakes up to an empty bed. Noticing how brightly the sun shines through a crack in the curtains she rolls over to check the time on the nightstand clock. She is surprised by the late hour and pushes herself to an upright position. She can’t remember the last time she’s slept in until almost 11:30 and wishes Arnold would have woke her up earlier. She hates the fact that she’s wasted almost half of their last day away sleeping. 

She’s a little unsteady on her feet when she first stands but passes it off as grogginess from having just woken up. The room does a quick spin as she starts to waddle towards the door and she holds on to the dresser for support. With a shake of her head balance comes back to her and she starts walking again. 

Coming in to the living room she sees Arnold through the sliding glass door sitting in one of the Adirondack chairs out on the back deck. An empty coffee mug is on a table that sits between the two chairs, along with a plate that is littered in toast crumbs. He has a local newspaper in his hands and is engrossed in some article describing events that will be happening in an up-coming annual Labor Day celebration. He doesn’t hear her until she’s practically on top of him and is startled when she takes a seat in the chair next to his.

“Helga!” He gives a little laugh, “You startled me. Good morning. It is still morning, isn’t it?” He says looking at the clock on his phone.

“Yes, but just barely, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to sleep in and waste our last day here.”

He takes her hand in his and gives it a squeeze. “It’s okay, between all the walking we did yesterday, then all those stairs we climbed, you obviously needed the rest. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine right now, I just have a bit of a headache. Probably from too much sleep.”

Arnold doesn’t catch on to the “Now” part of Helga’s answer and she doesn’t mention her earlier dizziness.

Helga looks at his plate of toast crumbs.

“Tell me that’s not all you had for breakfast. You didn’t have to wait for me to get up.”

“It’s okay, as the hours started slipping by I figured breakfast could become brunch instead.” Then he couldn’t help but tease her, “But, if you weren’t up by lunch then you’d be on your own.” 

“Heh, ever the gentleman.” She struggles to get out of the chair she’s chosen to sit in. “I don’t know why I keep sitting in this chair, I can never get myself back out of it without help.”

He laughs as he gets up to help her. “You’re like a turtle that’s rolled over to its back and can’t flip itself back over.”

“Hey! What kind of thing is that to say?” She says, mildly irritated. “I’m doing this for you, you know.” She gestures towards her extended belly while arching her back to exaggerate the protrusion, then gives it a little back and forth shimmy. 

“Riiiight, only for me. You’re not excited to become a mom or anything yourself.”

“Well, I never said that.”

“Thought so.” He gathers his stuff and follows her into the house. “So, you up to doing anything on our last day, or do you just want to stay here and have some inside fun?” He asks through a leer.

“I don’t know, perhaps both. But first, Arnelga is starving. How about that brunch you mentioned?”

“Hey! That’s the first time you called the baby Arnelga. See, it’s not so bad a name.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, just don’t go sneaking it on to the birth certificate.”

They work together sifting through the leftover food they’ve managed to accumulate since arriving last Monday and put together a decent meal of leftover roast beef, French bread, cheese and fruit with a bit of chocolate cake for dessert. After they eat they move over to the couch. Helga sits with her back against one of the armrests, Arnold sits next to her. Her legs are stretched out so they lay in Arnolds lap. He massages her feet as he throws out ideas of things that can be done in an afternoon.

“There’s a maritime museum not far from here, the article in the paper made it look pretty interesting.” He takes the paper, holding it up to show her the article.

She thinks about it then shakes her head no. “Too much walking. I don’t think I have the energy.”

“There’s a Wednesday night farmer’s market we can check out later. We can pick up something to cook for dinner.”

“Or we can end our trip with another visit to that wonderful fish and chips place we went to when we first got here.” She’s hoping for a ‘yes’ on that suggestion. “After all, who knows how long it’s going to be before we can make it back here again.”

“Okay, we’ve got dinner planned, but what about the rest of the day?”

“What’s wrong with just enjoying the beach itself? I’m good with just hanging out here.”

She’s usually not the type to just want to sit around doing nothing and her lack of interest in doing anything more than just sitting on the beach has made him suspicious.

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” He studies her face watching her reaction to his question.

“Yes, I’m fine, I promise. I’m just tired. The last couple of days are catching up to me is all.”

“Okay.” He says, moving her feet and standing up. He holds his hands out to her. “How does this sound, we take a short stroll on the beach, then we can come back here and if you’re tired we can catch a quick nap and when we wake up we head down to the farmer’s market and look around then make a stop at the fish and chips stand for dinner?”

“That’s the best suggestion I’ve heard all day.” She lets him help her up and they head off hand in hand down to the beach.

A few hours later she wakes up, her head rests on his bare chest, slowly rising and falling with each breath he takes. She runs her fingers through the little bit of chest hair he has as she listens to the steady rhythm of his heart. 

She thinks about the upcoming months and wonders what kind of mother she’s going to be. She already knows that Arnold will make a wonderful father, there’s absolutely no doubt there. But what about her? She didn’t have the best role model as far as mothers went growing up. Most of her childhood was spent feeling neglected, as if she were a ghost that nobody could see. When it came to school events she could count on one hand all the times her parents bothered to show up, and they were the time she played Juliet in the school play, the one time they showed up for Family Day, and once for a spelling bee she was in, and that was only because Bob had a lot riding on her winning that particular competition. She chuckles to herself as she thinks about how she purposely let Arnold win that contest just to cheese her dad off.

Her giggling wakes Arnold up. Gently stroking her hair he places a kiss on the top of her head.

“Hey sleepyhead.” She says as she pokes him in his side tickling him.

“Hey yourself. How long have you been awake?”

“Not too long. I was just laying here, thinking.”

“About how amazing I am?”

“Ha, ha, don’t flatter yourself. Actually, I was wondering about what kind of mom I’m going to make. I’m so scared of being another Miriam.”

Arnold rolls to his side now so he can look her in the eye. “Why on earth would you think you’d be like Miriam?”

“Because, she’s the only mother I’ve ever had. What if somewhere deep down in my sub conscience I think that she is what being a mom is all about. You know what they say, as you grow up you become your parents.”

“I don’t believe that, and I know you better than you know you. You know exactly all the wrong things she did, and there’s no way you’d repeat them. Besides, you’re not an alcoholic.” 

She cringes as the word “alcoholic” is verbalized. It is well known by everybody that Miriam has a problem but when it’s your own family member it’s just never an easy thing to face. 

“Come on,” he says as he starts to gets up, “it’s almost 5:00. Lets’ head over to that farmer’s market, then we can get dinner and head back here and relax.”

She throws her arm around him keeping him from getting up. “Nooooooo, you’re too warm and comfy. I don’t want to move.” 

“If we wait too long the fish and chips place will be closed.”

“I don’t care.” 

“That means no food for dinner.”

“I don’t care.”

“I know you, there’s no way that appetite of yours is going to let you skip a meal.”

“We’ll eat cold cereal.”

“Frosted Flakes and milk for dinner? Really healthy.”

“Add a banana to it and you have three food groups, dairy, grain and fruit.”

“That won’t sustain you, you’ll be waking me up at 2 a.m. wanting real food.”

“No I won’t.” She starts nibbling on his neck as her hand wanders downwards.

“You’re not playing fair.” He complains as his body starts to respond to her touch.

“So, sue me.” She whispers in his ear as her hand strokes him into submission.

He rolls onto his back and pulls her on top of him. “Okay, I give up. But don’t come crying to me at two in the morning.”

Later that evening he comes into the bedroom, cereal, milk, bowls and bananas in hand. They enjoy what Helga has dubbed “Brinner” (breakfast and dinner) while watching a small tv that sits on the dresser opposite the bed. 

He laughs at Helga as she uses her stomach as a table. 

“That’s not fair, you have a built-in table. I have to hold my bowl myself.”

“Next time you be the one to get pregnant and then you can have your own table.”

“Nope, it’s not worth the hassle, I’d rather hold my own bowl and leave the pregnancies to you.”

After eating they cuddle as they watch tv. Eventually Helga drifts off. Arnold follows suit a half an hour later. They sleep peacefully until sometime in the wee hours of the night. The house is quiet, the only sound coming from the waves outside their window. Arnold is awakened by a gentle shaking of his shoulder. He hears a small voice call to him.

“Arnold, baby?”

He looks at the clock on the nightstand, it reads 2:30 in the morning.

“I KNEW IT!” He grumbles as he gets up and heads to the kitchen.


	13. Chapter 13

At the end of their two days they sit at the little round table on the back deck, enjoying a breakfast of French toast with a side of freshly made fruit salad. Helga stabs her fork into a pineapple chunk as she looks out to the beach, watching a pelican glide effortlessly just above the surface of the water. A little closer to shore a small pod of dolphins play in the waves as they swell. 

For the first time since they’ve been there they are not the only ones out enjoying the morning. Down by the water’s edge a couple of beach combers walk hand in hand, stopping every so often to pick up a treasure that has caught their eye. The intruders spy the young couple on the deck and wave a hand in greeting. Arnold waves in return as Helga sticks the pineapple chunk in her mouth, chewing it slowly. She gives them a nod then sighs.

“What’s wrong?” Arnold asks through a mouthful of syrupy bread. 

“Nothing really, just wishing we didn’t have to leave today is all. It’s just so peaceful here.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean, but at least we had the last two days.”

“You’re right.” She says as she gives him a smile, “And they were perfect.”

They go back to watching the beach. Finally, after a few minutes, Arnold breaks the silence.

“Just think, the next time we come here we’ll be a family of three. Then the next time after that, who knows, we could be a family of four or five.”

“Five! That means three kids. Are you up to that?”

He thinks about it for a moment then says, “Actually, I think I’d be up for at least four or five kids.”

She chokes on her orange juice and lets out a loud, “FIVE! Are you crazy?”

“No, I think five is a good number. Well, actually, maybe six is better. Three boys and three girls.”

She looks at him, unable to tell if he’s serious or not. “Criminy, six kids. Well, let’s get through having this one first and then go from there. Deal?”

“Deal.” He says as he gets up to clear the dishes.

She follows him into the house and together they tidy the place up and gather the few belongings that they happened to have on them when they started their journey. After taking one last walk on the beach they begrudgingly get in the car and head for home.

As he drives he steals a quick glance at her as she sits lost in her thoughts. She looks relaxed and content and that makes him happy. He thinks about their life together and chuckles as memories of their childhood run through his head. 

They had this weird sort of love/hate relationship when they were kids. She was a bit of a bully back in the day, and always seemed to take out most of her aggressions on him. When the taunting would get particularly bad he would swear that he hated her and would wish that she would just move away and never come back. Then, out of the blue, she would do something so incredibly unselfish for him he would look at her in a different light and want to spend all his time around her, getting to know the real her. 

Their feelings for each other were so deep, and so strong, they didn’t know how to deal with them. It was as if they both would purposely sabotage themselves. As soon as they would start to get close, one of them, usually Helga, would do something to push the other away. 

This went on for years until they finally became old enough, and mature enough, to realize what these feelings were that they had for each other, and how to properly handle them. As soon as it did click, though, there was no stopping them. Once they were on the same page and knew what they were doing they never looked back. They became inseparable. As their relationship became public their friends feigned surprise but in reality, somewhere in the back of their minds, they knew the two would someday be together. And how could they not? Two people don’t expend as much time and energy on each other as they did if they didn’t have feelings for each other. 

They are both pulled from their thoughts when Helga’s phone goes off. Looking at the screen she rolls her eyes at the name that is staring back at her.

“Oh, criminy, it’s Olga. What do you suppose she wants?” The question is rhetorical and she doesn’t really expect a response so she gives Arnold a suspicious look when he speaks up.

“Ohhh, you never know with Olga.” He says through a gulp, worried over what Helga’s going to do to him when she finds out he’s called on Olga to keep an eye on her while he’s at work.

She doesn’t really feel like putting up with Olga right now but answers the phone anyway.

“Hey, Olga, what’s up?”

“Oh baby sister!” Olga exclaims on the other end of the phone line. “I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to call you. I do hope you can forgive me. Arnold told me all about your predicament with your pregnancy and him having to go back to work next week.”

Helga puts her hand over the phone as she glares at Arnold. “You told her about my appointment?”

Arnold is almost afraid to look at her so he keeps his eyes on the road. “Well, yeah, someone’s going to have to be around for you while I’m at work and………”

Helga puts up a hand, cutting him off as she turns back to the phone. “Oh, well, Olga, you really don’t have to worry……….”

“Oh, no, baby sister, Arnold told me all about how you are going to need to take it easy and not do anything strenuous until the baby comes.”

Helga looks at Arnold and mouths to him, “I’m going to kill you!”

Arnold cringes and turns back to the road.

“You don’t have to worry about anything, I’ve rearranged my whole schedule from now until you deliver that baby. I shall be at your house from the time you wake up until Arnold gets home from work.”

“Uh, gee Olga, that’s really nice of you and all but really, I’ll be fine on my own.”

“Now baby sister, I won’t hear any of it! I’m going to take care of everything, all you’ll have to do is sit back and take it easy. Okay, so it’s settled, I will see you Monday after your doctor’s appointment. I’ll be waiting at the boarding house for Arnold to drop you off before he heads off to work.”

Olga hangs up, leaving Helga to just sit and stare at her phone. Slowly, she turns her head to look at Arnold who sits fidgeting behind the steering wheel.

Her words come out slow and precise. “What - were – you – THINKING!”

“I’m sorry but come on, Helga, you know what the doctor said. You’re not to do anything strenuous. You’re going to need help.”

“With what? As it is all I’ve been doing the last month is sitting around the house.”

“Yeah, but you also do the laundry, and clean the house, and cook. I don’t want you doing any of that.”

“You do realize that there is one week left in August, then four weeks in September, then however long it’s going to be in October. That makes at LEAST six weeks stuck in the house with Olga!”

“You won’t be in the house the whole time. You’ll still have your daily walk in the park for exercise, plus your walks to Green Meats, and the corner store. It’s just, well, now you’ll have Olga with you to keep you company.”

“Honestly, Arnold, if you weren’t the father of my unborn child, I’d – I – I swear, I’d kill you.”

He smiles at her now, knowing she’s finally calmed down. “You mean our child and besides, you’d never kill me.”

“Oh yeah, how can you be so sure?”

“Because,” he says smugly, “you love me too much and you’d be lost without me.”

“Whatever.” She says as she turns her face from him and looks out the side window. 

He can see her reflection in the glass and the smile on her face lets him know that all is forgiven.

 

When they finally arrive back at the boarding house Arnold opens her door and helps her out of the car. She stands and gives a hearty stretch.

“Man, that was a long drive.” She says as the head up the front steps.

“Yeah, and I’m surprised you made it all the way back home without having to stop for any pee breaks.”

“Ugh, why’d you have to say that, now I have to pee!”

She pushes past him and waddles down the hallway. He follows her into the bathroom and stands at the sink. Turning on the cold water, he fills his hands and splashes his face. Helga sits on the toilet looking up at him.

“Uhhh, you ever hear of the word privacy?” She says.

He looks down at her and flicks some water at her. “Five years of you showering, and brushing your teeth, and fixing your make-up and hair while I’m trying to take my morning constitutional and you complain of no privacy for one pee? Heh, get a life.”

“Whatever, a queen needs her privacy.”

Arnold grabs the hand towel and dries his hands and face. He throws it over her head as he leaves the bathroom. 

“Suit yourself.” He says.

She grabs the towel off her head and throws it at the door just as he closes it behind him. It hits it and falls to the floor.

“BRAT!” He hears her yell as he walks to the kitchen laughing.

They spend the rest of the afternoon just hanging out at the boarding house. Helga sits at her laptop working on her next article that’s due by the end of the next week. Her stomach gives a grumble and a few seconds later their baby gives her a good swift kick. Placing her hand on the side of her stomach she can feel what is either a foot or an elbow sticking out. Giving it a slight push the baby kicks back before pulling the appendage back in. 

“Well you’re pretty feisty tonight.” She says to her stomach.

Just then Arnold walks into the room.

“Who are you talking to?”

“Your child. Apparently he didn’t appreciate my grumbling stomach waking him up. He just gave me a huge kick.”

“Awww, I missed it. I love feeling Arnelga move around.”

He gets down on his knees now and talks into Helga’s stomach.”

“Arnelllllga, come on baby, wake up for daddy. Let me feel you kick.”

As if on que their baby gives an even bigger kick than before.”

“Ooof!” Helga blurts as she places her hands on her stomach. “Thanks a lot Arnoldo, like I really needed to be kicked again.”

“You’re welcome.” He says as he kisses the spot where the baby had kicked. Standing up he brings up the subject of dinner.

“Are you hungry? We don’t have much food around the house, I was thinking we could head to the park, its Truck Night tonight.”

Every Thursday night from June until the end of September all the neighboring food trucks meet up at City Park for what the locals have dubbed “Truck Night”. They come from all over the city, taking turns at different parks on different nights of the week. The food ranges anywhere from burgers to sushi and everything in between. There’s live music, various craft booths and games for the kids. 

“You’re right, I forgot about Truck Night. It sounds like fun.” Helga says as she pushes herself up from her chair. 

The trucks come together in a semi-circle in the parking lot, so parking is always a hassle which is why they choose to walk the few blocks. By the time they get there the event is in full swing and crowded. Tonight’s entertainment is provided by a local bluegrass group and the music mingles with the sound of kids playing and vendors calling out order numbers which signal their customers to come get their food. 

Arnold and Helga start at one end and cruise the semi-circle checking out all that there is to choose from. The aromas intermingle with each other making it hard for them to decide just where to eat. 

“Mmmm, it all smells so good.” Helga exclaims as she breathes deeply through her nose.

“I know.” Arnold agrees. “I may just have to buy something from more than one truck.”

“We should just buy a variety of stuff then put all in the middle of the table and pig out.” Helga’s mouth is watering now.

“Good idea.” Arnold says as he continues to eye the trucks. “Tell you what, why don’t you take one half of the semi-circle, and I’ll take the other and we’ll meet in the middle and then find an empty table.”

“Perfect.” Helga says as she waddles towards the truck nearest her.

The writing on the outside of the truck says “Billy Bob’s Texas B-B-Q”, their slogan states that they’re “The Best in the West.” Getting in line she scans her side of the semi-circle to see what else there is to choose from.

Two trucks down she sees a truck that offers Hawaiian plate lunches. She plans on making that her next stop. 

Once each of them have hit up all the trucks that looked good to them they find an empty picnic table and spread out their bounty in front of them.

“Okay,” Helga points to the first dish she’s bought. “First we have a small baby back rib plate from the B-B-Q truck, next is a sweet and sour chicken bowl from the Hawaiian truck, here is a lamb gyro from the Greek truck and finally a chocolate banana crepe from the crepe truck.”

“That looks really good.” Arnold says, then presents her with his find. “Well, I got us each a carnitas street taco from the taco truck, then a slice of cheese pizza from Gino’s to split, some Indian fry bread with whipped cream and chocolate sauce and finally two pineapple smoothies from the smoothie truck.

They look from the spread of food to each other and start to laugh.

“There’s no way we’ll be able to finish all of this.” Arnold says.

“I know, but it just all looked and smelled so good. Besides when you really look at how much is on each plate it’s not really that much. I say we can do it.”

“Is that a challenge?” Arnold says as he picks up a plastic fork.

“Yes, it is.”

“Okay, you’re on!”

Helga raises her pineapple smoothie in the air and shouts, “Then let the games begin!”

They dig in, savoring the different flavors, commenting on how delicious everything is. Arnold goes to take a bite of the chocolate crepe and Helga knocks his fork away.

“No dessert until you’ve finished your dinner young man.” 

“So is this you practicing to be a mom now?” 

“Yes it is. Do you dare defy me?”

Arnold gives her a petulant look. “No, but, geeze, you’re going to be a tough mom.”

“I’m only doing what’s best for my family.”

By the time they’ve both eaten all their stomachs could hold they sit back and survey the damage.

Helga holds her full stomach and gives a little burp. “Man, we did better than I thought. There’s not much left.”

Arnold scrapes the last bit of chocolate from the plate that held the fry bread. “No there isn’t. I can’t believe how stuffed I am.”

Deciding to try and walk some of the dinner off they throw away their trash and head towards the craft booths. They quietly walk arm in arm listening to the music while stopping every once in a while to look at some trinket that’s caught their eye. 

Once they’ve seen all that is being offered they head back to the boarding house. The walk is slow and they talk quietly to each other about which dish they liked the best, and how much fun it was at the beach house. By the time they get back home Helga is exhausted so they head straight to bed.

“It’s not that late,” she says, “You don’t have to go to bed just because I’m tired.”

“I know,” he says as he rests his head on her tummy. “I just thought I’d keep you and Arnelga company as you drift off.”

She smiles as she runs her fingers through his hair. He gently caresses her stomach and she falls asleep to him crooning a lullaby his mother used to sing to him before she and his father disappeared.

“Lullaby, and goodnight, sweet dreams and sleep tight,  
Know we love you more each day, while you sleep and while you play…..” 

It’s the only real memory from his childhood that he has of his mother before she and his father disappeared from his life. It’s a faded memory, but sometimes at night if he concentrates really hard he can still hear her voice as she softly sings. It’s the one thing he can pass down first hand to his children from their grandparents and so now he lays, eyes closed, one cheek on Helga, and an arm cradling her belly as he softly sings.


	14. Chapter 14

She’s slipped down onto her back sometime during the night and the weight of the baby resting on her bladder wakes her up. Its morning and a ray of light escapes through a crack in the curtain hitting her in the face. She slowly opens her eyes and sees a pair of green ones staring back at her. Startled she gives a short yelp before her brain realizes that it’s her husband. 

“Geeze, Arnoldo, are you trying to give me a heart attack staring at me like that?”

“Aww I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He says through a chuckle.

“Why were you staring at me anyway?”

“I don’t know, I like to watch you sleep. You always look so peaceful and content.”

She blushes and rolls her eyes, “Ugh, you’re too sweet, stop it.”

He props himself up on one elbow resting his head on his hand and gives her a good morning kiss. His other hand rests on her stomach.

“So how are the two of you this morning?”

“I don’t know, all I can think about right now is peeing. I’ll be right back.”

She rolls over to her right side and swings her legs off the bed. When she stands up a wave of dizziness hits her and she sits back down holding her head.

“Whoa, that’s weird.”

Jumping up Arnold sits next to her placing an arm around her shoulders.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I think so. I just got really dizzy. Help me up, will you?”

“Of course.” Arnold says as he takes one arm and slowly steadies her as she stands up.

She’s a little off balance and he helps her walk to the bathroom. He stands by her not wanting to leave her side.

“Umm, I’ve got this.” She says as she sits hoping for some privacy.

“Okay but don’t try to get up by yourself, call me when you’re done.”

She sits for a bit thinking that if Arnold is going to be this worried over every move she makes then it’s going to be a long month and a half or so until the baby comes. 

Finishing up her business she washes her hands and leaves the bathroom to find him leaning against the wall waiting for her.

“I told you to call me when you were done.” He says, a bit annoyed.

“And I told you I was okay. Seriously, Arnold, you’ve got to chill. All I had was a momentary bout of dizziness. I’m better now.” 

She turns her back towards him and walks off to the kitchen. Grabbing a glass and a carton of orange juice, she pours herself some and sits at the table. 

Arnold walks to the counter and grabs the portable blood pressure monitor and sets it down in front of her.

“Since you’re up you might as well take your morning reading.”

Without saying anything she wraps the cuff around her arm and pushes the on button. Air starts to slowly fill the cuff, inflating it. It tightens just to the point that is starts to feel uncomfortable before slowly deflating. As the cuff deflates the numbers shift about on the display screen until they settle on her final reading.

Arnold jots down the numbers in the notebook and compares them with her previous readings. Her readings have been pretty consistent over the last few days, but this mornings’ are higher, causing a look of concern to wash over his face.

“I don’t like this, Helga.” 

She looks at the numbers he’s written in the notebook. “Well, I agree that the numbers are higher than they’ve been, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.”

“I don’t agree, I think we should call the doctor.”

“Arnold, we’re not calling the doctor. People’s blood pressure can fluctuate. Unless it continues to rise I don’t think we need to worry.”

“And I say why wait for it to turn into a problem. I’m calling the doctor as soon as the office opens and seeing if we can get an appointment.”

Growing frustrated she says, “You’re not going to let this go, are you?” 

“Nope.” Is all he says as he gets up and takes a carton of eggs out of the refrigerator. He walks to the stove and asks, “How do you want your eggs?”

With a curt reply of “Scrambled.” The subject is closed.

 

 

Arnold calls the doctor’s office right at 9:00 and is able to get Helga an appointment that morning. Making sure to bring the notebook with her blood pressure readings they get in the car for the quiet ride in to town.

Now, sitting in the waiting room, Arnold flips through the magazines that sit on the table and spies an old Highlights magazine. He remembers Highlights from his childhood years and picks it up. He immediately thumbs through the pages looking for the “I Spy” page which was his favorite part of the magazine when he was a kid. He finds it and isn’t surprised to see all the hidden items have been circled in various colors of crayon. 

Helga glances over to him and notices the disappointed look on his face and gives a chuckle. Arnold looks at her and blushes over being caught with a kid’s magazine.

“What’s the matter?” She asks, “Having trouble finding the hidden teddy bear?”

He closes the magazine and throws it on the table. “I was just looking to see how much the magazine has changed over the years.”

“Heh,” Helga says, “I bet that magazine hasn’t changed in over 50 years.”

Arnold’s about ready to give her a witty comeback when the door opens and a nurse comes out and calls Helga’s name. 

Arnold helps her up and they follow the nurse back towards the exam rooms. After a quick stop at the scale they are ushered into a room.

Helga gets up onto the table, letting her feet dangle over the edge. “I hate doctor’s offices.”

“I don’t mind regular doctor’s offices, it’s all this women stuff I don’t like.” Arnold says as he motions to posters of uteruses and wombs and such. 

They hear a quiet knock on the door as the doctor lets herself into the room.

She nods to Arnold then turns her attention to Helga.

“So, Helga, I see you’ve been having a little trouble since I last saw you?”

“A little.” Helga says before Arnold can say anything. “I woke up with a bout of dizziness and when we took my blood pressure it seemed a bit high. We just thought we should get it checked out.”

Looking over Helga’s chart the doctor nods her head. “I’m glad you came in, especially with your family history of preeclampsia. You can’t be too careful.”

“That’s what I thought.” Arnold says as he gives Helga a smug look. 

The doctor gives Helga a once over, making sure to check her blood pressure.

“I just saw you on Monday, and your blood pressure has gone up in just the last few days. This concerns me. Have you been taking things easy?”

Helga and Arnold took turns filling the doctor in on their little spur of the moment beach trip they took ending with their overindulgence at Truck Night. 

“I’m not concerned with you taking a little get away to the beach,” the doctor says, “but I am concerned with all the high calorie, high salt street food you ate. You have to really watch what you eat right now.”

Helga knows where the conversation is heading and is already mentally saying good bye to all her favorite foods. 

The doctor walks over to a wall display that has various flyers on it that concern different medical conditions. She pulls one out that talks about diet and blood pressure. She hands it to Helga.

“I want you to start really watching your diet, you are going to need to cut down on your salt intake even more than you have, and start eating more fresh vegetables and grilled proteins. Stay away from fried foods and sweets.”

Knowing Helga’s love for food Arnold knows this is going to be a challenge for her. 

The doctor gets up shaking both their hands before leaving the room. “I will see you on Monday for your regular appointment. Have a good weekend and call if anything changes before hand.” 

As they drive home Helga sits in the passenger seat looking down at the flyer the doctor handed her. She looks over to Arnold.

“You’re going to tell Olga about this, aren’t you.”

“Uh, yeah.” He says, surprised she even thinks that he wouldn’t. “She’s going to be cooking for you three nights a week. Don’t you think she’s going to have to know about your dietary restrictions?”

“But I know her, she’s going to blow everything out of proportion. Its’ bad enough that I have you watching my every move, now I’m going to have Olga getting all Mother Hen on me too. You don’t have to tell her everything the doctor said.”

“Yes I do, and I am, whether you like it or not.”

Helga crosses her arms in front of her and stares out the front window. “I hate you.” She huffs.

Arnold smiles. “No you don’t.” He says.

“Whatever.” She says with a pout.

He looks at her and gives a small snicker. “Yep, it’s true.” He says.

“What is?” She asks.

“You’re cute when you pout.”

“Shut up and drive.” She says as she rolls her eyes.

When they get back to the boarding house Arnold heads to the kitchen. As Helga passes the doorway she sees him rummaging through the pantry pulling out various boxes and bags of food and putting them in a large plastic bag.

“Uh, what are you doing?” She asks as she picks up a box of her favorite cookies.

He looks at her and takes the cookies from her. “I’m getting rid of all the stuff you’re not supposed to eat.”

She grabs for the bag but he pulls it out of her reach. “Not my Fudgie Town cookies!”

“Yes, your Fudgie Town cookies, and your chocolate chip and snickerdoodles too.”

She sees a plastic container with her favorite peanut butter filled pretzel squares and grabs it, holding it to her chest.

“You can’t have my pretzels, there’s nothing wrong with these, just pretzel and peanut butter. Peanut butter is good for you, protein, you know.”

“Maybe so, but the pretzels are full of salt. We can get you some salt free pretzels.”

“Nooooooo!” She wails as he pulls the pretzel container from her grasp.

Moving to the refrigerator he scans it for contraband. “Lets’ see, I think we can do without this chocolate pudding, and this pie can go too. Man, Helga, I never realized how much of a junk food junkie you are.”

“Hey, I’ve always had a fast metabolism, before getting pregnant I could eat all I wanted and not have to worry about anything. I noticed you left your tapioca pudding alone. If I have to get rid of my stuff shouldn’t you have to get rid of yours too?”

“No, I’m not the one having to watch what I eat.”

“Criminy.” She says as she sneaks an almost empty box of powdered mini donuts off the counter and starts to walk away.

He sees this and moves in front of her blocking her way. He holds up the plastic bag and looks at her with a raise of his eyebrows. “Well?”

“Fine!” She drops the donuts into the bag and pushes past him. “If you need me for anything I shall be in bed wasting away.”

After discarding Helga’s junk food stash in the trash can he sits at the table and makes a list of healthier food items to replace what he’s thrown away. He knows that she’s not much of a vegetable eater, it was hard enough getting her to eat more veggies when they first found out she was pregnant and he knows he’s going to be in for a lot of complaining over the next few weeks. 

Remembering that he still needs to call Olga to tell her about Helga’s appointment he pulls out his phone and dials her number. She answers on the second ring.

“Arnold, how wonderful to hear from you, how’s my baby sister. Everything’s alright, I hope.”

“Hi Olga, yeah, everything’s fine. I just wanted to discuss what went down at Helga’s doctor’s appointment this morning. It seems some changes are going to be needed in regards to her diet, and I can tell you right now, she’s not very happy about it.”

“Oh, don’t worry brother-in-law, I can handle my baby sister. Just leave everything to me.” 

They spend the next twenty minutes going over their game plan in regards to handling a grumpy Helga.”

Once they feel that they are on the same page Arnold has one last thing to say before hanging up. “Okay then, I guess we’ll see you on Monday. Oh, and Olga?”

“Yes, Arnold?”

“Good luck.”


	15. Chapter 15

It’s a hurried Monday morning as Arnold does his best to move Helga along. She’s purposely dragging her feet in an effort to delay the start of the day. She’s dreading having to spend the whole afternoon with her sister and thinks Arnold’s insistence on having her babysat is ridiculous. As they get in the car and head to her appointment she tries once again to get him to stop worrying about her.

“You know, Arnoldo, you’re making a mountain out of a mole hill over all of this.”

“So it’s wrong for me to be concerned about our baby’s health, and yours for that matter?”

“No, of course not, but you’re blowing this out of proportion. You heard what the doctor said, there’s no reason that we can’t expect to have a perfectly healthy, full term baby.”

“And she also said that you need to be extra careful.”

Helga leans back in her seat and closes her eyes, her frustration is evident. “And I am being careful! I’m a big girl, Arnold, I don’t need to be watched 24/7. If anything should happen while you’re at work you’re only a phone call away.”

“I don’t care.” He says stubbornly, “I will feel better knowing you’re not alone. Please, just put up with this for me, okay?”

“Ugh! You’re impossible. Okay, it’s unnecessary, but if it will make you feel better, and ease your mind, I’ll do it.”

Feeling victorious over having won this particular battle he reaches over and pats her on her head.

“It does make me feel better, thank you.”

“Yeah, whatever.” She replies as she ducks her head away from his hand.

A few minutes later they take their spots in the waiting room, each sitting scrolling through their phones to pass the time.

After a bit the door to the back rooms opens and a familiar shape catches Helga’s eye.

“Patty?” Helga says, a bit surprised. “I didn’t know you were a patient of Dr. Johnson too.”

“Oh, hi Helga, hi Arnold. Uh, yeah, what a coincidence.” She says, a bit embarrassed to be talking to Arnold at her gynecologist’s office. 

Sharing in her embarrassment Arnold gives her a quick ‘hello’ before diverting all his attention back to his phone.

Helga gives Patty a suspicious look and jokingly says, “Sooo, anything new and exciting going on that we should know about?”

Patty nervously rubs the back of her neck as she says, “Wellll, maybe.”

Surprised Helga speaks up a little louder than she means to. “Shut Up! No you’re not!”

Helga’s outburst causes Arnold to look up from his phone, suddenly interested in the conversation.

With the secret out and finally having someone to confide in, a smile fills Patty’s face. “Yep, I am!”

She turns her gaze to Arnold. “But please don’t say anything to Harold, I haven’t told him yet, I just now got it confirmed with the doctor and I want to surprise him.”

Helga and Arnold had met Patty back during their PS 118 days. She was not only a grade or two ahead of them but having had to repeat a year she was a bit older too. Combine this with being big for her age and it made for a not too fun childhood. 

Much like Helga, she hid her insecurities beneath a gruff exterior and developed a reputation for being a bully. The difference between her and Helga, though, was that while being tough, Helga still maintained friendships with the other kids. Patty on the other hand, pushed most people away out of fear of being hurt.

Then one year, in an attempt to smooth out her rough edges a bit, Patty’s parents signed her up for an etiquette course. As it turned out Rhonda was also signed up for this same class. At first Rhonda would have nothing to do with Patty but as the classes went on they got to know each other and by the time the course was over they had become friends. 

With the two now on good terms Patty was brought into the little band of friends and it was through one of Rhonda’s parties that Patty and Harold had taken notice of each other as more than just members of the group. 

As time went on their relationship grew and became serious. By this time Harold had already been working for Mr. Green at the butcher shop for quite a few years and he had made a vow that once he had gotten a couple years of junior college under his belt, had his AA degree, and was ready to take over at the shop, he would ask Patty to marry him. 

That was just over three years ago. It was a large wedding, following all the Jewish traditions starting by the couple fasting before the ceremony and ending with a loud chorus of “Mazel Tov” after the breaking of the glass. The whole gang was there and they partied well in to the wee hours of the night. 

Helga remembers having to drive a very drunk, very amorous Arnold back to the boarding house afterwards. The whole time chuckling as she listened to all the things he was going to do to her once they made it home. After having to practically carry him up the steps to the front door she led him to the bedroom as he serenaded her with a tune she had a hard time placing and lyrics that were so badly slurred she had no idea what he was saying. Laying him on their bed he was passed out before she could even get his shoes off. 

Looking down at him she placed a soft kiss on his forehead and said “Sleep well lover boy.”

The next morning Arnold woke up to a jackhammer pounding on his head as the room circled around him, and made that solemn vow that everyone who’s ever overindulged makes, which is to never drink again. 

Looking at Patty now, Helga fully understands her wish to keep her pregnancy a secret and quickly says “Of course we won’t tell!” as she gives Arnold a nudge. “Right, Arnold?”

Looking from Helga to Patty he gives a quick “No, no I won’t say a word.”

By now the nurse has reappeared at the door calling Helga’s name. She and Arnold get up and give Patty their best wishes as they say their good byes. They follow the nurse into an empty exam room to continue their wait.

“Wow, so that’s crazy about Harold and Patty, huh.” Helga says, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, that’s pretty cool, our kid will have someone to play with.” 

Helga places her hand on her stomach and thinks about how fun it will be to watch the two kids grow up and be friends. Arnold walks up to her as she sits up on the exam table and places his hands on her protruding belly. The baby starts to move around and she watches his face as he smiles and starts talking to the child. He bends down to place a kiss on her stomach just as the doctor walks into the room. 

Arnold gives an embarrassed “Hello” to the doctor and sits back down in his chair.

“So,” she says, looking at Helga, “how are we feeling this morning? Any more bouts of dizziness?”

“Not since our last visit a couple of days ago.” Helga says, anxious not to have any more restrictions placed on her. 

After giving Helga a once over, the doctor still isn’t happy with the elevated blood pressure, but Helga is given the ok to go home and continue doing what she’s doing with the reminder to take it easy and watch what she eats.

The drive home is relatively quiet, with Helga only complaining once or twice about having to put up with being babysat.

“It’s not going to be that bad.” Arnold tries to reassure her. “I only have to go in all five days this week to make sure my office is set up and ready for when the students start back. After that I’ll only be gone three days a week.”

“Three days too many if you ask me.” Helga said, a bit snippety. 

“You know, she has to put up with you, too. You haven’t been the most pleasant person to be around at times lately.” 

Catching himself a little too late, Arnold immediately regrets his choice of words and braces himself for Helga’s attack.

Helga gives Arnold with an incredulous look as she tries not to shout.

“I can’t believe you just said that! Excuse me if I’ve been a little irritable over the past few days.”

“More like weeks.” Arnold thinks to himself, but is wise enough to not verbalize it.

“YOU try walking around with a bowling ball inside of you during the hottest part of summer and see how calm YOU’D be.” Helga continues. “YOU walk around having to pee every half hour, or having our baby use YOUR bladder to pound out the drum solo to Wipeout!”

“Okay, okay, you’ve made your point. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean what I said, its’ just that I’m tired too of constantly worrying about both you and the baby.” He lets out a big sigh, “I just wish we could have this baby and be done with all the waiting.”

Helga hadn’t thought about how hard all of this must be for Arnold. Her demeanor softens and she places a hand on his thigh.

“You’re right. I’m sorry, I’ve been so self-absorbed in myself that I haven’t given any thought to you. Okay, I’m done complaining for real now. Let Olga have her way with me. It’s only for a few weeks, right, I mean, how bad can it be?”

Arnold doesn’t answer, but instead silently wonders “Just how bad indeed?”

…….

 

They arrive home to find Olga just getting out of her car. Her arms are laden with bags of food and various books and magazines. Arnold runs up to her in order to relieve her of some of her burden leaving Helga to waddle up the steps on her own. 

“This is going to be a long week.” Helga thinks to herself as she unlocks the door stepping aside to let Arnold and Olga in.

Once Olga is settled and Arnold is sure he is no longer needed he gives his wife a kiss then mouths to her a quick “be good”. 

Thanking Olga again he heads out the door leaving the two sisters on their own.

Olga walks up to Helga and gives her a big hug. “Oh baby sister, this is going to be so much fun. I will take care of everything, all you’ll need to do is relax and take care of that precious baby of yours.”

Doing her best to be cordial Helga gives her sister a smile. “Thanks Olga. I still think this isn’t necessary but I do appreciate the help I guess.”

“Anything for my baby sister. Here, I brought you some reading material so why don’t you go sit down and relax while I get us some lunch.”

Helga takes a stack of magazines from Olga and waddles to the family room. Scanning the titles she rolls her eyes and abandons them on the coffee table as she heads to her computer to work on her magazine column that’s due in a few days.

She sits, lost in her work, until she hears her sister calling from the kitchen.

“Baby sister, lunch is ready.”

Helga gets up and slowly makes her way to the kitchen. She sits down to a lunch of broiled chicken and steamed vegetables. She is expecting everything to be bland and boring but she’s forgotten who she’s dealing with and when she takes her first bite she is pleasantly surprised at how good it tastes. 

“This is really good.” She says between bites. “How did you make plain broiled chicken so tasty, especially without using salt?”

Glad that her sister approves Olga just says, “It’s all in the spices you use.”

The rest of the day passes with Olga doing light housework while Helga catches up on some old back episodes of her favorite shows that have been DVR’d and forgotten. 

A few hours later Arnold arrives home to find dinner simmering on the stove and his wife and sister-in-law actually engaged in happy conversation in the living room. 

“Well, it looks like you two are getting along nicely.” He says, bending down to give his wife a kiss. 

“Oh we’ve had the most wonderful afternoon, haven’t we Helga.” Olga turns to her sister with a smile.

“Yeah, it was actually a pretty nice day.”

Saying her good-byes Olga lets herself out. “I hope you enjoy the dinner I’ve made, I’ll see you both in the morning.”

That night Arnold sits propped up in bed going over some files he’s brought home from work. Helga sits next to him munching on a dry rice cake as she flips through a couple of the magazines Olga brought over.

“I can’t believe these women’s magazines, who reads this crap?” Helga says as she holds one up in front of her. 

Arnold glances over to it. “What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s these articles. Look at the title of this one. ‘Your Vagina and You, An intimate guide to getting to know the real you.’ What the hell?”

Placing the current file he is reading on the nightstand Arnold takes the magazine from Helga and drops it on the floor. Leaning over her he gives her a kiss, his hand gently stroking her inner thigh.

“Forget the magazine, any questions you have about your vagina you can just ask me.”

“Oh yeah?” She asks through a giggle, “What makes you think you’re such an expert?”

“I was hoping you’d ask.” He says as he disappears below her belly and proceeds to show her the full extent of his expertise.


	16. Chapter 16

The first week of “Operation Babysit Helga”, as she refers to it, went by without too much of a hitch. Helga had expected her time with her sister to be miserable but she was actually surprised to discover that, when given a chance, Olga was really a pretty nice person to be around.  
They found themselves bonding over stories of their childhood, each sharing their experiences and points of view over growing up as a Pataki. Helga admitted to her feelings of never being able to measure up to Olga and her achievements, and her own inability to gain their father’s approval. She also admitted to, once or twice, sabotaging Olga in an effort to bring her sister down a notch or two. 

At the time Olga was aware of how Helga felt but what could she do about it? She had her own struggles to deal with just to keep in their father’s good graces. It wasn’t as easy as she made it look to be the Golden Child but it was what she needed to do just to gain their father’s attention. 

The subject of their mother came up. Olga admitted that Helga had it worse than she did because Miriam’s drinking didn’t really become a problem until sometime after the second miscarriage. It made Olga’s heart break to think of Helga growing up alone in that house, no real parental support, no one to confide in, no one to tell her that it’s okay, everything’s going to be okay. She would try to reach out to her sister whenever she would come home from college or whatever excursion she had been on but by then the damage had been done and Helga really didn’t want anything to do with her.

All that, though, was in their past. They understand each other better now. They are more relaxed around each other. They feel they can be themselves and they find that they actually like what the other has become. 

Today’s conversation has turned to the topic of husbands. It’s no secret that Helga doesn’t really like Samuel, but she does admit that he is good for Olga and treats her well. She just wishes he wasn’t quite so stuck up and pretentious. Olga insists that that is just how he comes off on the surface, that deep down inside he is a kind, generous person, much like Arnold. Helga can’t quite see the two of them placed in the same category but trusts Olga’s judgement and agrees to try and look beneath the surface and find that kind person Olga insists that he is.

Eventually Helga dares to bring up the subject of kids and finally asks if she’s ever going to become an aunt. 

“Oh, we do plan on having children eventually,” Olga explains, “just not right at the moment, there’s still so much we want to do.”

“You know, Olga, you’re not getting any younger, you’re already in your 30’s. Aren’t you afraid that if you wait too long it will never happen?”

“Why no, Baby Sister, women much older than me are waiting to have their first child. Besides, Samuel and I have discussed the possible problems with waiting and we’ve both agreed that if it isn’t meant to be that we have a child of our own we can always adopt.”

The thought of Samuel agreeing to adoption surprises Helga.

“Huh, I always thought Sammy Boy was concerned with keeping up with the Dunsmuir bloodline and that he’d never agree to adoption.”

“That’s because you don’t know him Helga. I keep telling you he’s not the man you think he is.”

“Well, maybe there’s hope for him yet then.”

With all the talk of babies the subject now makes a natural transition towards that of sex. Both women commenting on how passionate their spouses can be. 

Olga gives a little chuckle. “You know, I do have to admit that I’ve always thought that Arnold’s calm demeanor was hiding a real tiger on the inside.”

“Oh you have no idea.” Helga says through a huge smile. “That man is like the Energizer Bunny, he can keep going, and going, and……..”

It’s right at this point the two girls hear the front door open. They stop talking as Arnold walks into the room. He can’t help but feel that he is being scrutinized as he walks over to Helga to give her a kiss. 

“Soooo, you girls got quiet awfully fast. Did I interrupt something?”

The sisters look at each other and can’t help but giggle.

“No, not at all dear brother-in-law, we were just talking about, umm.” She looks over to Helga who’s trying hard to stifle another giggle.

“Tigers.” Helga says, “We were just talking about tigers…….and rabbits.”

At that Olga busts out with a loud guffaw that leaves Arnold giving the two sisters a confused look. “Ooookay, I guess you had to be there. I’m just going to leave you two alone now.”

He leaves the room unable to shake the feeling that he was just the butt of some sisterly joke, but he shakes it off, just glad that the two are finally getting along and actually acting like real sisters.   
 

… 

 

It was hot for being so early. Certainly way too hot for her to be expending as much energy as she was. But that was late summer for you. That time of year where there’s just no break from the heat. Here it is only 8:30 in the morning and the temperature was already over 80 degrees. “God, what’s it going to be like come the real heat of the day?” She thinks to herself as she sits straddled atop her husband. 

She was getting too big for this, and too off balance. Not only that, as she became bigger, her energy levels were dwindling and she was finding it more and more an effort just to keep up with him. Sure, a couple of days ago she was bragging over her husband’s stamina. Then it was all smiles and sighs as she exclaimed to Olga that “He can go on forever!” Right now, though, it was more of an exhausted, “Damn, dude can go on forever!”   
 

Her mind drifts back to their very first time. It happened about six months after they first became a couple. They were young and neither knew what they were doing. It was a couple of weeks before Christmas and they were at Helga’s house. Her parents were attending some fancy gala that was being thrown to support local businesses. These types of affairs always lasted well in to the night so the couple knew they had the whole night to themselves. 

They had spread out a comforter next to the huge Christmas tree that Bob insisted on buying every year. Helga had decided that the tree needed a more personal touch from the fancy store bought ornaments that were on it so she suggested they string up some popcorn to use as garland. 

They sat in semi-darkness, the only light coming from a small lamp and the blinking lights that hung on the tree which towered over them. It was cozy and private as they sat stringing and talking. At one point Helga held up a piece of popcorn as she looked at Arnold.

“Open up Arnoldo, let’s see how good a catch you are.”

He opens his mouth and the piece of popcorn she throws at him hits his lip and bounces off to the comforter.

“For being such a good pitcher you sure do have lousy aim when it comes to popcorn.” He teases. 

“Oh yeah, Hair Boy? Watch this.”

Aiming again she misses. He tries to move so he can catch the kernel but this time it bounces off his cheek.

“I don’t think it’s my aim, I think you’re just a lousy catch. Here, try again.”

This time she throws three kernels at once, each one hitting a different spot on his face.

“Now you’re doing that on purpose!” He says as he picks up a handful of popcorn, throwing it at her.

They both sit laughing as they stare into each other eyes. Unable to look away he leans in, placing a hand to the back of her neck. With gentle pressure he guides her towards him until their lips meet. They find themselves unable to pull away from each other. His kiss becomes deep and urgent. They finally pull apart, barely able to catch their breath. 

With a mutual understanding they begin to slowly peel away each other’s clothing. He reaches out, touching her, finding her skin soft and warm. He guides her down, the blinking lights of the tree reflect back up to him from her eyes. He moves his knee, causing her legs to part. His hands are on either side of her face, propping him up so he hovers over her. 

“Are you sure this is what you want?” He asks.

She nods and gives him a breathless “Yes.”

He kisses her as he lowers himself down. He’s a little clumsy at first and it takes a few tries for him to finally make his way inside her.

Her body nervously shakes as she steels herself, not knowing what to expect. After feeling him poke around for a bit she gives a slight gasp as he claims her as his. As soon as he’s in her he stops and looks down at her.

“Are you okay? Do you want me to go on?” He asks with concern.

She wraps her arms around him nodding yes.

It’s a little awkward in the beginning, neither one knowing what they’re doing, but pretty soon nature takes over and they find each other’s rhythm. It doesn’t take long and before they know it they find themselves laying side by side on their backs, each feeling a bit too self-conscious over what they just did to actually look at each other. 

As their breathing starts to slow Arnold finally turns to look at her.

“I love you, Helga.” He says with complete sincerity. 

She smiles and places a hand to his cheek. “I love you too, Arnold.”

That all seems like so long ago now as she struggles just to keep up with him. Don’t get her wrong though, she still loves every second when they are together like this, it’s just that right now she wishes it didn’t last for so many seconds. 900 to be precise. She had had her moment a good fifteen minutes ago, so that’s why, when she felt his hands grasp on to her hips in an effort to hold her body at just the right angle, she thankfully knows that in a few more thrusts her reprieve would come and she could finally have a chance to catch her breath. 

So, after a drawn out “OHHHHHGODHELLLLGAAAA!” She is able to slide off of him and collapse, belly up, next to him. They lay next to each other, bodies covered in sweat. 

All the movement has woken the baby up and now it decides to dance a Rumba on her bladder. “Criminy” she thinks to herself as a foot pushes out the side of her stomach. Arnold sees this and is all smiles as he places his hand on her.

“You are so lucky.” He says with a bit of jealousy in his voice.

“Lucky? How so?”

“You get to experience how it feels to have another entire human being live inside of you. Something I’ll never get to know.”

“You want to know what it feels like to have a little person take up residence inside you? Let me kick you in the gut a few times as hard as I can, or dance a jig on your bladder when you already have to pee like a racehorse and then you’ll know what it feels like.”

He gives her a questioning look. “Sheesh, sorry I mentioned it. You feeling alright? You’re not usually so grumpy after a good boinking.”

A laugh escapes her at his choice of words. “Boinking? What are you, twelve?”

“What? That’s a perfectly good word. I guess I could have said Boned, or Banged or….”

“Okay, okay, enough already. I swear you get weirder every day.”

“Alright. But seriously, are you okay?”

She sees the look of concern on his face and places a hand on his cheek. “Babe, I’m fine, it’s just getting harder for me to do certain things, plus I run out of energy faster now, it’s hard to keep up.”

“Helga, if you wanted to stop just now you should have said something. You know I would have understood.”

“And leave you high and dry? No way, I’d never do that to my man!”

“Welllll, you could have finished things off in other, less strenuous ways.” He said as he gave her a leer.

“We may have to resort to that soon if I get any more uncomfortable.”

She snuggles up resting her cheek on his chest, thinking once again about that first time, and gives a big sigh. “I love you Arnoldo, you do know that, right?”

He kisses the top of her head. “Yes, I do, I see it in your eyes every day.”

She grabs his hand and kisses the back of it. She continues to hold it as they lay together.

She furrows her eyebrows thinking.

“Today is Sunday, right?”

“Yep, all day.” He says.

“Didn’t we have something to do today?”

“Man, you’re pregnancy brain is getting worse. You have that little baby shower luncheon Olga is throwing you, remember? Miriam and the other ladies in the neighborhood will be there.”

“Oh yeah,” Helga says, suddenly remembering. I almost forgot. I’d better get going!”

Getting up she stretches, then places her hands on her lower back, giving it a rub. 

Arnold comes up behind her and starts massaging her shoulders. “Is your back still bothering you?”

“Yeah, just a little. God, I can’t wait to pop this little guy out.”

“Well, I’m afraid you’re going to have to hold on for at least a few more weeks. We want that baby fully cooked.”

“I know, I know. Come on, I need help getting in the shower. Aaaand, if you’re lucky I’ll let you scrub my back.”

“Whatever you need, my Lady.” He says as they head off down the hallway.


	17. Chapter 17

Miriam busies herself at the dining room table, putting the finishing touches on the centerpiece she has been put in charge of. There is a beautiful bouquet of pink and blue flowers accented with ferns and delicate baby’s breath. The flowers surround a tall statue of a stork. In its mouth hangs a bundle containing the small figure of a baby. The blanket that surrounds the baby is in shades of pink and blue. Scattered about the table are pink rose petals and sparkling bits of blue confetti. At one end of the table is a stack of Olga’s fine china plates and an array of actual silver utensils. No paper plates and plastic forks at one of Olga’s parties, no way. Even the punch bowl and cups are made of the finest crystal.

To the other side of the table sits a large sheet cake. It follows the stork motif of the centerpiece and consists of Helga’s favorite chocolate cake which is covered in the most delectable buttercream frosting. 

Between the plates and the cake is an array of hot finger foods, a vegetable platter, trays with different cheeses and crackers and a bowl of fresh salad. 

Miriam has her good moments and her bad moments. Luckily, today she is having one of her better moments. Her head is clear and she hums a tune to herself as she works. Thoughts of when she was pregnant with Helga run through her mind.

She wasn’t supposed to be having a second baby, not after two miscarriages that almost claimed her life, but she figured that for her to find herself pregnant despite Bob’s vasectomy, then there must be some divine reason for it. She was even surer of this fact once she hit her seventh month and had no problems. ‘Perhaps this is finally the boy Bob so desperately wants.” She’d spend her days thinking, to the point of actually convincing herself that it was, indeed, a boy. Then, on a beautiful spring day in the last week of March, Miriam gave birth to their second daughter.   
It’s not to say she was devastated that her baby was a girl, no, she was maternal enough to love her baby despite that fact. It was more of a disappointment. She was disappointed that, after four tries, she had failed in providing her husband with the one thing he wanted most. A son.

As time went on Bob had become more and more withdrawn, burying himself in work. She saw the effect it was having on her girls. Olga was becoming an overachiever, gaining her father’s attention which often times left Helga in the shadows. She had started out doing what she could to boost Helga’s morale and figures the two would have had a pretty good relationship if it hadn’t been for one minor, well, actually, one major problem. Alcohol. 

It snuck up on Miriam slowly. At first it was just a drink or two at night after the girls went to bed. Just a little something to take the edge off so she could sleep. As time went on the drinking started earlier and earlier in the day. Just a quick one before the girl’s got home from school, to make it easier for her to put up with the sister’s constant bickering. Then perhaps another before Bob comes home, you know, to make his grumbling less annoying. And who doesn’t like a nice glass or two of wine with dinner? 

By the time Olga was off to college and Helga was in the fourth grade, Miriam’s drinking had become a full blown problem. Many were the nights where dinner never made it to the table because she was passed out on the couch, or Helga had to go to school without lunch because she had forgotten to get groceries, and mother/daughter bonding time? That was nonexistent. 

Miriam realizes she had dropped the ball when it came to raising her two girls, but perhaps she could make up for it by becoming the best grandmother she possibly could. That is why, when she first got the news of Helga’s pregnancy, she decided to take those first steps towards sobriety. It’s not been easy for her, but for every step back she makes she takes two steps forward and that’s a start. 

She’s driven from her thoughts when Olga’s front doorbell rings. 

“Mummy, could you please get that?” Olga’s voice floats out from the kitchen.

“Oh, sure honey.” Miriam says as she puts the last of the roses in the vase.

She opens the door and sees Phoebe’s mother, Reba, on the other side. 

“Why Reba, how wonderful that you could make it!” Miriam says through a heartfelt smile.

“Hi Miriam, I’m so glad to be here, Kyo and I just love Helga and Arnold and I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Phoebe’s mom answers back.

And so it goes for the next half an hour or so. Olga had invited the moms that were there to watch both Helga and Arnold grow up. It was a very tight knit community they all grew up in and whatever happened to one member was shared with everyone else. 

It was a pretty full house by the time the last guest arrived and they all sat happily chatting together as they awaited the arrival of the guest of honor.

 

***** 

 

“Come on Helga, you’re going to be late if you don’t pick up the pace.” Arnold yells as he paces by the front door.

“Okay, okay, criminy, I’m going as fast as I can. Sheesh.”

“Well it’s not polite to be late for your own party.”

“I had to pee, I can’t help it that my bladder’s been squished down to the size of a peanut.”

“Right, right, squished bladder, size of a peanut. I’ve got it. Now, get in the car already.”

She sticks her tongue out at him as she struggles into the passenger seat of their old Packard.

They arrive at Olga’s and Helga looks pleadingly at Arnold as he helps her out of the car.

“Are you sure you won’t stay for the party? I really don’t want to do this by myself.”

“Oh Hell no!” Arnold exclaims. “There’s no WAY you’d get me to sit around with all those ladies exchanging birthing stories and stuff. Yuck.”

“Chicken.” Helga says as she rings the doorbell. “At least come inside and say hi.”

The door is opened by Miriam. The first thing Helga notices is how clear and coherent her eyes are and she thinks to herself that it’s going to be a good afternoon.

“Helga! Arnold!” Miriam says as she ushers them inside and gives them both a big hug.

She leads them both into the living room where they find half the women in the neighborhood smiling up at them from their seats. 

When they notice Arnold is there they get up, surrounding him and plying him with hugs and kisses. Helga sees the helpless look on his face and can’t help but giggle. He gives her a “stop laughing at me” look which makes her giggle even harder.

Once the ladies have turned their attention towards Helga he says his good-byes. He gives his wife a quick kiss which elicits a chorus of “Awwww’s” from the crowd, embarrassing him even further. 

“I’ll be at Gerald’s, call me when you’re ready to be picked up.”

“Okay, have fun and stay out of trouble.”

Turning back to the ladies now she is ushered in to the dining room. She takes in the spread of food and the decorations and sees how much trouble her mom and sister went to just for her and it touches her heart. Filling a plate she is then brought back to the living room and takes a seat in a chair that is surrounded with gifts. 

She looks around the room, taking in each face that smiles back at her. All the moms of all her friends gathered there just for her. The memories of her childhood come flooding back to her. All those warm summer nights, running and playing in the neighborhood until the streetlights come on. Waking up in the winter, praying for a snow day then charging outside for snowball fights in the street. She thinks of school plays and cheese festivals. All of this being watched and supervised by these very ladies that now sit before her to honor her. 

Her heart swells as her eyes tear up. Olga notices the tears and gives Helga a worried look.

“Are you okay Baby Sister?”

Helga takes a deep breath before speaking. 

“I’m fine, Olga. I’m just so touched by all of this.” She looks at all the moms. “I – I’ve known you all, all my life and I’ve never realized until now how much like family you are to me. I love you all and I guess I just want to say thanks for always being there for me and all the other kids while we were growing up.”

There’s not a dry eye in the room now as all the moms take turns reminiscing and telling stories from the good old days. 

The afternoon passes quickly with good food, corny shower games and the opening of presents. Helga is surprised to find that she is sad that the day must come to an end. But one by one the guests leave until it’s just the three Pataki women left to sit and enjoy each other’s company. 

“Are you sure you don’t want any help cleaning all of this up?” Helga asks.

“No, of course not Baby Sister.” Olga replies as she motions for Helga to sit back down.

“Okay then, I guess I’ll give Arnold a text and let him know that I’m ready to be picked up then.”

A little while later Arnold arrives to pick up his wife. He is greeted at the door by Olga. She leads him into the living room where he finds Helga engaged in what actually looks like pleasant conversation with her mother. Turning to him he can see that Miriam’s face if beaming with happiness. She gets up to give him a big hug.

“Arnold, you’re back!” She says as she gives him a tight hug. “Are you hungry? There’s plenty of food left over.”

“Oh, uh, no thanks, Gerald and I went out for burgers earlier, but thanks.”

Olga motions Arnold over to the couch. “Have a seat while I run to the kitchen and fix you both some left over food to take home.”

Arnold sits, noticing all the opened gifts that are scattered about Helga.

“Wow, is all this stuff for us?”

“Yep.” Helga replies, “I still can’t believe how generous everyone was, and look!”

She holds out her hands, her signal for Arnold to help her up. He pulls her up, placing a quick kiss on her lips which doesn’t go unnoticed by Miriam who watches them. They waddle over to a brand new crib. Beside it sits a bassinet to keep by their bedside for the first few weeks after their baby comes home.

“Wow, this is great. Who’s it from?” Arnold asks as he runs his hand across the crib’s smooth wood.

“It’s from Bob and Miriam. He even went crib shopping with Mom to pick it out.”

Arnold tries to imagine Big Bob picking out baby furniture and gives a little chuckle. “I – I’m speechless.” He mutters.

Miriam gets up and is standing with them now. Placing a hand on Helga’s shoulder her voice is soft as she speaks mostly to Helga.

“I know our family was never really much on conversation and showing feelings as you girls were growing up, but, I don’t know. Something has changed inside your father lately and he seems to becoming softer. I really think it’s the baby and the idea of him becoming a grandfather.”

“Heh, feelings.” Helga thinks to herself. “You can say that again about none of us ever showing any feelings.”

A memory comes into her head, it’s from back when she and Arnold first started dating. He was so open with his feelings and she just always wanted to keep hers bottled up. 

She thinks back to what he said to her one day as they were standing in front of her locker at school. He was never shy about showing any PDA and was making another one of his attempts to kiss her, not caring who saw. 

He couldn’t help it as he stood there, listening to her talk. She was just so cute to him at that moment. When she finished what she was saying she looked at him and he leaned in. Their lips touched for the briefest of seconds. He could feel her begin to return the kiss before quickly pulling away, looking frantically around her to see if anyone was watching.

“Hey!” She yelled, “Who said you could kiss me?”

Arnold’s shoulders slumped, his eyes taking on that half lidded look of frustration he’d always get when she’d react like this.

“Come on, Helga.” He said for about the hundredth time. “Everyone knows we’re a couple, they know we kiss.” His half lid look becomes a leer. “And Stuff.”

The added “And Stuff” makes her blush even redder.

“I know that, Arnoldo, but it still doesn’t mean we have to put it out there for everyone to see.”

“I swear, Helga, I’m not giving up on this. Sooner or later I’m going to break you of this shyness of yours.”

It’s a vow he takes seriously and eventually accomplishes. It may have taken him a while but he does succeed and by the second year of high school they were just as open, and just as obnoxious as any other teenage couple in love.

Turning back to her mom now she places a hand on her shoulder.

“With the baby coming and all, I think I’d kinda like to make a pact for us, as a family, to make a fresh start. I don’t want to bring this baby into the dysfunction that I grew up in. I know that if we really try, we can be a real family. Hell, I’ll even start being nicer to old Sammy Boy.”

Olga walks into the room just as Helga is talking and runs up to her mother and sister, throwing her arms around them. 

“Oh Baby Sister!” She cries, “That was just the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard!”

Finding old habits hard to break Helga pushes out of Olga’s grasp.

“Yeah, yeah, let’s not go overboard though, let’s take it slowly, one day at a time.”

 

**** 

 

With everyone pitching in it doesn’t take long for the Packard to be filled to the brim with gifts and leftover food. With the crib too big to fit in the car Arnold says he’ll come back another day to take it apart and bring it back to the boarding house. 

As they drive home Helga leans back in her seat, rubbing her eyes and giving her head a little shake.

Arnold looks at her suspiciously. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing.” She says, not up for a conversation about her health.

“Come on, Helga. Remember, no more secrets.”

“Okay, everything just started to go blurry for a bit and I got a bit dizzy. It passed though. I’m okay now.”

He looks at her with concern. “You did remember to make our appoint for Tuesday, right?”

“Yeah, yeah I did ………….. well, at least I think I did.” She pulls up the calendar on her phone. “Yes, see right here, it says ‘doctor appointment, ten o’clock.’”

“Okay, good.” Arnold says. The rest of the ride is spent with each to their separate thoughts while some soft jazz plays from the radio.

Once home and the car unpacked Helga heads to the bedroom. The dizziness is back and she needs to lay down. Concerned, Arnold stops her by placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Wait, before you go lay down come in the kitchen and take your blood pressure. You skipped your afternoon reading.”

Too exhausted to fight it she obliges and sits at the table. Once the machine has come to a stop they notice another jump in her readings. They look from the machine to each other, their eyes meeting.

“It’s okay.” Helga says with a slight quiver in her voice. “It was a big day. I’m sure once I’ve rested it will go down.”

Arnold looks at her, silently nodding his head. He takes her by the hand and takes her to the bedroom. He sits next to her on his side of the bed as she falls asleep. His gaze turns to the window and he watches the late afternoon sky turn to evening. The soft orange glow of the setting sun bringing a subdued hue to the bedroom.

He turns to look at Helga and notices her stomach jostling about. He places his hand on her, feeling the kick of his child. He leans down, placing his lips close to her and speaks to the baby.

“Don’t worry little fella.” He says, “Everything’s going to be okay.”


	18. Chapter 18

Monday comes and Arnold lays awake listening to the sounds of the neighborhood as they flow in through the open window. Because it’s the first of September and Labor Day weekend he has no work today. He works out the timing of Helga’s pregnancy in his head. With it being the first week of September, and her due date the middle of October. That put her, to their best calculations, into the beginning of her 34th week. According to all the books he’s read that is still considered premature. “We need to make it to at least 37 weeks!” He thinks to himself. 

He’s pulled from his thoughts as Helga begins to stir. He rolls over to face her, wrapping an arm around her. He softly nuzzles her neck, gently guiding her into full wakefulness. She starts to smile before she’s even fully awake. Opening her eyes the first thing she sees is his face. A sight she swears she’ll never grow tired of. 

She kisses his cheek as she snuggles into him. “Thank you.” She says as she relishes the feel of his body so close to hers.

A puzzled look appears on his face. “For what?” He asks.

“For not giving up on me when we were kids. For putting up with how badly I treated you. For seeing beneath the surface understanding the feelings I wasn’t able to express properly.”

He kisses the top of her head. 

“Heh, it wasn’t easy, you know. There were times when you were absolutely brutal to me.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. But you never gave up. Why?”

He thinks about it for a bit, wondering himself just why indeed.

“I’d have to say because the good I saw in you was so much more powerful than the bad. Yeah, you were a bit of a bully, but you never really were bad. You were just confused. When push came to shove and someone’s well-being was really on the line, you were there for them. Behind the scenes perhaps, but there all the same.”

“Okay.” She says, pushing away from him. “Enough mushy stuff. I need to pee.”

He chuckles as he rolls himself over her, copping a quick feel, before getting up and helping her to her feet. 

The room gives a quick spin as she stands but she finds her balance and they walk off to start their day.

Harold and Patty had planned a casual Labor Day cookout at their house to celebrate Patty’s pregnancy, to which Helga and Arnold were looking forward to attending. They stop at the grocery store on their way to Harold’s house and pick up a couple 12 packs of beer and some juice for Helga. Helga tries to slip in a bag of her favorite chips which Arnold immediately puts back on the shelf.

“Helga, you know better.”

“But I’ve been so good, and it’s a holidaaaay.” She whines.

“I said no and that’s final. Go grab some fruit instead.”

She gives a bit of a huff and waddles off to get some grapes. 

Not too long afterwards they make it to the party and it amazes Arnold that, for once, they are not the last ones there. Patty welcomes them in, leading them to the backyard where Harold has taken up residence at the grill. The smell of grilling meats hits Helga’s nose causing her to salivate. 

She sees Lila and Stinky sitting at a table and makes her way over to them. She thought that they made a cute pair, what with both of them sharing the same rural background growing up, and wondered just how long it was going to take Stinky to finally pop the question to her. 

She didn’t always care for Lila. Not that there was anything wrong with her. It was more the fact that, for a brief time when they were kids, Arnold really liked her so by default that meant Helga hated her. It wasn’t until Lila gave up her role as Juliet so Helga could be with Arnold that Helga’s attitude towards her softened. Then, as the years went by, their friendship grew to the point where now they were really good friends. 

“Hey guys.” Helga says as she walks up to them. “Mind if I join you?”

“Helga! It’s oh so good to see you.” 

“Garsh Helga,” Stinky said as he looked her up and down, “You sure are looking very motherly today.”

Not too sure what that meant Helga gives Stinky a smile as she sits down. “Uh, gee, thanks Stink. How are things going at the farm?”

Upon graduating from high school, Stinky had gone on to get a degree in agriculture down at UC Davis in California. Afterwards he had returned back to Hillwood where he reconnected with some of the old gang. One of them being Lila. They had started spending more and more time together and realized that they had shared in a common desire to get into the farming life. 

Stinky had found a piece of property just outside of the city that he knew would be the perfect place for him to start a small, privately owned, organic farm. The loan was too much for him to handle on his own, and he had had trouble coming up with the down payment. Then one night, after having one too many beers, he had cornered Lila at a party they both happened to be at and began unloading his list of woes to her. It was then that Lila had the great idea of pooling resources with Stinky and buying the property together. So waiting until the next day when Stinky was sober she told him of her idea and with a little finagling of funds and securing his father as co-signer, they were able to buy the property.

At first it was just Stinky that lived in the little farmhouse that came with the land but eventually, as their relationship deepened, Lila ended up moving in with him. They worked together tilling the soil and raising their crops. They had tried following the farmer’s market circuit, each day setting up shop at a different location but soon grew tired of it. They were just beginning to wonder if they had what it took to make a business like this take off when Lila came up with the idea of instead of going to the people, why not have the people come to them. 

They spent the next few months making their little farm presentable to the general public and opened Peterson Farms. They were opened to the public four days a week, Thursdays to Sundays, leaving them the other three days for general farm work. Their crops followed the seasons and they became a success. Eventually they bought a few goats and chickens and branched out into also selling eggs, goat’s milk and even cheese. They dedicated a portion of the farm to raising various berries and added jams and jellies to their stock a year later. It was very trendy and drew in people from all over the area. 

It always pleased Helga to hear how well her friends were doing. They were good people and deserved to be happy. She looks over to Arnold who’s somehow been tricked into taking over the job of burger flipper and sighs. Someone had placed a chef’s hat on him and a “Kiss the Cook” apron covered his body. He just looked so cute standing there, spatula in one hand, cold beer in the other, smoke billowing up into his face. He glances over and catches her looking at him. Raising his beer to her he points to the words on the apron with the spatula while puckering his lips at her. She laughs causing both Stinky and Lila to follow her gaze.

“That sure is just like Harold.” Stinky says, “Tricking someone else into doing the cooking while he goes off and parties. I know on account of he’s done that to me the last four times I’ve been to one of his cook outs.”

Lila and Helga can’t help but laugh as they look back to Arnold who is scanning the backyard desperately looking for Harold.

By the time evening comes around the party has dwindled to just a few stragglers taking their time saying their good-byes. Helga isn’t feeling too well and suggests that she and Arnold leave. Saying their good-byes they make their way back home. In the closeness of the car Arnold can see the fatigue on Helga’s face.

“We should have left sooner.” He says.

“But we were having so much fun, I hated to leave.”

“I know, but you look exhausted, and uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, my back has been bothering me. Maybe a nice soak in a warm bath will help. If, that is, you’ll join me?” She gives him a raise of an eyebrow hoping for a positive response.

“We’ll see,” he says, trying not to sound too eager, “maybe that can be arranged.”

An hour later he sits with his back against the cool porcelain of their bathtub, his wife’s back leaning against his bare chest, both surrounded in warm water as he slowly massages her aching shoulders. 

 

…… 

 

The next morning she’s dressed and ready to see the doctor. For once she is actually eager to go. Her back pain has been getting a little worse since last night and she’s just not been feeling well in general. It’s not really any one thing she can pinpoint and she’s curious as to what the doctor has to say. 

They arrive at the medical building and she’s slow to make her way through the parking lot. Luckily it’s only a short wait to see the doctor.

Helga has been directed to remove her clothing from the waist down and now sits on the exam table with a paper sheet covering her lower half. Arnold has pulled the chair he sits in close to her so he can hold her hand. 

“You need to relax, Helga.”

“I’m trying, Ar-nal-do.” Her words come out gruffer than she meant them to.

“I’m sorry.” She says in apology. 

“It’s okay, I know you’re not feeling well.”

After an eternity the doctor comes in and makes her greetings to the couple. They say hi back then it’s down to business. 

“I want to examine you first before talking about how things are going.” The doctor says as she washes her hands. Slipping on a pair of exam gloves she takes a seat in front of Helga’s spread legs. 

Helga tightens her grasp on Arnold’s hand as the doctor fishes around inside of her. She keeps her gaze on Arnold in an effort to try and keep her body relaxed. 

When the doctor is done she rewashes her hands and leaves the room so Helga can get dressed. A few minutes later she is back in the room with a solemn look on her face.

“Okay,” she starts. “Let’s begin with your exam. It seems that you have started to dilate again and are now at two centimeters which is something we are going to have to watch. Also, I have your lab results and it shows traces of protein in your urine with is another sign of preeclampsia.”

Helga’s hand tightens in Arnold’s and she begins to shake. Arnold stands next to her as she sits on the table, placing an arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

“Also, your blood pressure is continuing to raise which is another concern. How have your other symptoms been coming along, the dizziness and blurred vision?”

Helga looks to Arnold finding it hard to speak. Her voice is low as she begins to talk.

“The dizziness seems to come on more often now, the blurry vision too. Plus, lately my back has been hurting more and more. Not a very strong pain, just more often.”

The doctor gives Helga a concerned look. “These back aches, do they get better if you get up and start walking around?”

“No.” Helga says, “Sometimes activity seems to bring them on.”

“Does the pain stay only in your back, or does it seem to travel towards the front of your body as well?”

Helga has to think about it for a minute.

“Now that you mention it, sometimes my stomach seems to tighten up when a pain comes on.”

The doctor is quiet for a bit as she jots her notes in to Helga’s chart. After a bit she readjusts her glasses and looks from Arnold to Helga.

“I’m sorry, Helga, but from what you are describing it sounds to me like you are experiencing the beginning stages of labor pains. Have you had any spotting at all?”

Helga shakes her head no as she cries into her hands. Gathering control of herself she looks at the doctor. “N-No, nothing l-like that.”

“That’s good.” She flips through the pages of Helga’s file going back to where her due date is written. “From what’s written here it shows you to be at the beginning of your 34th week. It’s close but still just on this side of being early. If you were to have the baby now, barring any complications, it would have a very good chance of surviving. It may need some extra care and be on the small side, but it should do fine. The best scenario is for you to make it to at least 37 weeks and that is going to be our goal.”

It takes everything in Arnold’s power to not show the emotions he’s feeling right now. He knows that if Helga sees even on tear escape his eye she will totally lose it. So he has to take a deep breath before he speaks so the words come out strong and clear.

“So what does that mean Dr. Johnson? What do we need to do?”

“I’m going to prescribe bed rest for Helga until the baby comes. I know that lately there has been controversy as to whether or not bedrest really does anything to stop the symptoms of pre-labor, but I feel that in this case it’s necessary.”

She stands up and places a hand on Helga’s shoulder now, looking her in the eye.

“If you experience any bleeding, any at all, even the tiniest of bits, I want you to call me immediately. Also, if the contractions get any stronger or start coming more often, call me. As a matter of fact, do not hesitate to call me at any time of day or night for any reason at all.”

Helga looks at her and nods. “When you say bed rest, is that total bed rest? Can I lay on the couch, or take a shower? Can I be on my feet at all?”

“Good question, the longest I want you on your feet is ten minutes which should be enough time to take a quick shower or take care of any other personal grooming you may need to do. You can walk from the bed to a couch or the bed to a bathroom. I want you eating all meals propped up in bed. I know it’s going to get pretty boring, but at least now a days there’s the internet to keep you entertained.”

The doctor looks to Arnold now. “It wouldn’t be a bad idea if you can maybe arrange to have someone with her while you’re away at work. At this stage you never know what can happen. If something’s going to come on it can come on all at once and time could be very crucial.”

“Don’t worry, doctor, we’ve already got that under control.” He says, giving Helga a look that says, “See, I’m not so crazy after all.” 

“Okay then, if there’s no other questions I’ll see you back here next Tuesday. And please, remember, don’t hesitate to call for any reason.”

They say their good-byes and make their way to the car. The ride home is silent, each lost in their own thoughts. When they get home Helga makes a quick stop in the bathroom before heading in to bed. Arnold sits next to her with his arm around her shoulders. After a few minutes Helga begins to softly cry. 

Arnold whispers quietly in her ear. “Shhh, it’s going to be okay. We’ve got this. You’ll see.”

Helga wipes her tears away with the back of her hand and looks into Arnold’s eyes. “You promise?”

He smiles at her and says, “I promise.” While deep inside he can’t help thinking to himself, “I hope.”


	19. Chapter 19

He’s walking through an empty hallway. The floor has been buffed to a glossy shine that reflects the ceiling lights back up to him. The walls on either side of him are lined with identical doors. They are wooden with a small window above the door handle. In the middle of each door sits a room number. He hears a steady, rhythmic breathing off in the distance. “HeHe-Whoo, HeHe-Whoo”. It reminds him of the Lamaze breathing he and Helga learned about in one of their parenting classes. 

Mixed with the breathing is a murmur of familiar voices. 

‘Hang in there, Helga, you can do this.’ Comes Gerald’s voice.  
‘Not much longer now.’ Says Phoebe  
‘Really, you’d think they could make these hospital gowns a little more stylish.’ He hears Rhonda say.  
He’s shocked when he hears Helga’s voice. ‘Arnold! Where’s Arnold?’ 

He goes to yell out that he’s coming. He hears it in his head, but no sound comes out of his mouth.

He rounds a corner to another hallway. At the far end stands an opened door. He starts to run past the closed doors that stand to either side, but the more he runs the longer the hallway gets. Again he tries to yell but to no avail.

Helga’s panting has now turned to screams. ‘NO!’ He thinks to himself.

The voices begin to fade as he finds himself standing in front of an opened door. Its silent now save for the electric buzzing of a loose fluorescent light bulb that hangs from the ceiling in the room before him. It flickers giving off a strobe like effect. 

He enters the room. The only furniture sits in the middle of the room and is a single hospital bed. Lying in the center of it is his pregnant wife. She is sleeping, her hands folded neatly over her extended stomach. Standing over her facing him is a figure dressed in a black, flowing robe. Its head shrouded in a hood, obscuring its face. 

The figure holds a staff as it peers down upon the sleeping Helga. Arnold tries to yell out but still cannot. 

After a moment a dark mist begins to emanate from it. The mist hovers over Helga, blanketing the top of her body. When it clears Arnold notices that her stomach is, as it was before she became pregnant, flat. 

‘No.’ Arnold thinks to himself as the mist begins to reappear, this time covering all of Helga.

Arnold tries to run to her but is paralyzed and unable to move.

The mist clears this time to reveal an empty bed, the indentation of where Helga’s body lay still formed in the mattress.

This time when Arnold yells the hallways fill with his pain and agony. ‘NOOOOOOOO!’ he screams as an incessant buzzing begins to fill his ears.

He bolts upright as his chest heaves, sweat drips from his forehead. He’s disoriented as he looks around the room. Once he’s finally gotten his bearings he looks down to see his wife, peacefully asleep next to him.

“Oh, thank God!” He thinks to himself.

He shuts off the alarm and lays back down, placing his head on her stomach and waits for his shaking to stop. He feels a small kick on his cheek and laughs through a flow of tears.

…. 

It’s been just over a week since Helga was put on bed rest and the pressure of putting on a brave front for her is starting to wear on him. At yesterday’s weekly appointment they were happy to find that she had not dilated any further, but her blood pressure was still high and the protein level in her urine had gone up. She still was having minor contractions but they came on mostly when she was on her feet for too long. 

It was a work day for him today and he hated to have to leave her. It was hard for him to concentrate and on more than one occasion a student had to call his name a few times to snap him out of his thoughts. He had been calling both Helga and her sister so often they had to finally put him on restriction.

“Listen, Arnold,” Helga had said one day, “I know how worried you are, but think of it this way. No news is good news, meaning, if we aren’t calling you then everything is fine and you don’t have to worry.”

He disagreed with her but instead of getting in a fight and upsetting her he compromised. He said he would only call her twice a day if she agreed that either she or Olga would call him twice a day too. That way, he would get his updates every two hours until he got home.

With that matter settled they finished out their first week with Helga on bed rest.

Lying next to her now he takes a moment to gather his emotions and clear his face of tears. He doesn’t want her knowing about the dreams he has been having. The last thing he wanted was to place more stress on her. Sitting up, he reaches over and strokes her hair. A small smile plays across her lips as she snuggles deeper down into her pillow. He watches her for a moment longer before getting up. 

Forcing himself out of bed he heads to the bathroom for his morning routine of a quick shower and shave. He walks back to the bedroom wearing only his birthday suit and makes a mental note to not get too used to walking around the house naked in case they ever start accepting boarders again. 

She feels the movement of the bed as he sits up and throws his legs over the edge to stand. Not really ready to begin yet another day of sitting on her butt doing nothing she keeps her eyes closed, just listening. She hears the diminishing sounds of his footsteps as he walks to the bathroom, the rush of the water as he turns the shower on to heat up. After a bit the sound of a flushing toilet mingles with that of the shower. He hums the soft tune of an old song from back in the day, the song brings up memories of 7th and 8th grade dances. Eventually the water stops and it’s quiet for a few minutes. She listens for his returning footsteps and soon hears them. When she hears the creek of the opening door she peers out through half closed lids. She takes in his naked form and a flush runs through her body. She feels giddy as a school girl that’s won the attention of her current crush as her eyes scale his body as if it were Mt. Everest. They linger on the important parts before continuing their climb up his broad chest to the face that is the last thing she sees at night and the first upon awakening. 

He glances over to her and notices her looking at him. Turning his body so he’s facing her head on, he gives his hips a thrust or two.

“See anything you like?”

“Yeah, I see a lot of things I like.”

“Pervert.” He teases as he pulls out a pair of boxers from the dresser drawer and slips them on. “Sooo, you ready for another exciting day of, well, what DO you do all day to keep yourself busy?”

She sits up now fully awake. “I’ve been concentrating on working ahead on some projects for my magazine column so that I can take some time off when the baby comes. All I’ll have to do is submit them.”

“Good thinking. You need any help getting to the bathroom or anything before I head downstairs?”

“Yes, help me out of this darn bed.”

She holds her hands out as he walks over to her and guides her to a standing position. He walks her to the bathroom then heads downstairs to make a quick breakfast. When she’s done she reluctantly shuffles off back to bed. Fifteen minutes later he brings in a tray with enough scrambled eggs and toast for two, along with two mugs of decaf. He sits next to her and they enjoy breakfast in bed together. 

He takes a couple of minutes to finish his coffee thinking to himself that he can’t wait to get to work and have some real coffee. Decaf is okay if you have to drink it, but he really prefers the leaded variety. They talk quietly until they hear Olga’s key in the front door. They had decided she’d needed her own key back when she first came to help Helga out and are glad now that she has it.

Hating to go, he leans over to Helga now, giving her a good-bye kiss. 

“I’ll call you in a couple of hours, if you need anything before then, call me. I love you.”

“Okay, but I’m sure I’ll be fine. I love you too.”

He kisses her belly and whispers a quick, “Be good for mommy” into it and heads off for the day.

The rest of the day passes much like the last seven. Olga busying herself around the house, Helga glued to her laptop, her every two hour phone calls with Arnold, all broken up with the occasional visit from a friend or one of the neighborhood ladies. 

Arnold watches the clock in his office willing the hands to pick up the pace and move. A file sits open on the desk, forgotten for the time being. It’s that in-between time, an hour after calling Helga with yet another hour left before it’s her turn to call him. He thinks about this morning’s dream. They were getting more vivid and he was hoping it wasn’t some sort of sign. Not that he believed in that sort of stuff, but you never know. With a sigh he turns his attention to the file in front of him.

He looked at the name. James (Jimmy) Blanchard, Parents, John and Rebecca Blanchard. Age, 16. Arnold was familiar with the name, he had spent a good part of last year working with him. He was one of those kids that always seemed to have trouble fitting in. He wasn’t athletic enough for the jocks to take notice of him, too shy to get involved with things like Student Council. He had a talent for playing wind instruments but had no desire to join Band. So he spent his days alone, always taking the seat in the furthest back corner of the classroom, or eating lunch in a secluded stairway. As hard as Arnold, Mr. Shortman to the kids, that is, tried, he just couldn’t figure out how to reach him. 

Looking back at the clock now he is disappointed to see that it’s only been five minutes since he last checked. 

“Damn,” he thinks to himself, “this is dragging on to be one loooong day.” Once again his mind drifts and he wonders how things are going on at home.

 

.... 

The day has passed slowly for Helga too. Rubbing her eyes she feels the strain of staring at a computer screen for so long. Her butt is starting to hurt from sitting on it all day so she closes her laptop and decides to go downstairs and spend the rest of the day on the couch.

Olga catches sight of her as she makes her way down the stairs.

“Baby Sister! Why didn’t you call me to come help you downstairs?”

“Criminy, Olga, I’m not an invalid, I can make it down a flight of stairs.”

“But Baby Sister, you could easily become off balanced and fall. Think of what Arnold would say if you fell while on my watch!”

Helga rolls her eyes. “Arnold! Heh, he’s even got you obsessing over every little thing now.”

Knowing Olga’s right, and knowing she wouldn’t want to be in her position if anything happened and Arnold found out, she let the matter drop, feeling a little sorry for Olga. She makes her way to the couch and there she sits, back against one armrest, legs stretched out before her, flipping through the channels of the TV while she waits for Arnold to get home. 

Luckily she doesn’t have to wait long and soon she hears the familiar jingle of keys as they are dropped in the bowl on the entry way table. Olga greets him at the door, motioning towards the family room where Helga sits waiting. 

Olga gathers her stuff leaving instructions with Arnold on how to finish cooking the dinner she started and says her good-byes and after a long day of separation, the two are together again.

Arnold sits on his knees in front of Helga and gives her a deep kiss. “I’ve missed you.” He says, his lips so close to hers she can feel them move on her own as he speaks. 

Her tongue traces his bottom lip and she smiles. “I can tell. I’ve missed you too.”

They spend a few more moments saying their hellos to each other before he pushes himself back up and tries to remember what Olga said about dinner.

   
Later that evening Arnold sits in his favorite chair as he and Helga watch some evening television before heading up to bed. It’s a plush leather chair he couldn’t resist buying when they bought the new bedroom furniture after moving into his grandparent’s old room. He sits with the back reclined a bit, his legs propped up in front of him. A bowl of grapes sit in his lap and he slowly munches on them as he watches TV. 

He looks up from the bowl and sees the back of Helga’s head as she sits propped up on the couch watching TV with him. He looks at the bowl then back to Helga, a mischievous grin spreading on his face. He takes a grape and lobs it at Helga’s head, it hits her and bounces off on to the floor. She reaches back rubbing the spot where it hit and gives him a look. He raises his shoulders and holds his hands palms up beside him as he silently mouths the word. “What?”

She gives a little huff and turns back to the TV. He takes another grape and throws it, hitting her again. This time she turns, her face filling with annoyance.

“Hey, watch it.” She remarks.

“What, I didn’t do anything. Now hush, I can’t hear the TV.”

Grumbling, she turns back around as he throws a third.

“I said, cut it out!”

“Oh,” he says in mock surprise, “you don’t like that? Do you find it – ANNOYING?” On the word “annoying”, his mouth spreads out into a cheesy grin.

“Yes I find it annoying, Ar-nal-do!”

“Well, just consider it my own version of a spit wad.”

Her back is towards him but he can see her flinch at the word “spit wad”, which makes him chuckle. He throws another grape at her.

“You’re such a Football Head.” She shoots back playfully.

She hasn’t called him that for years now and to hear it coming from her lips brings back many fond memories. It surprises him to realize that he kind of misses it. He makes a mental note to ask her just when and why she made the decision to stop. He picks up another grape, putting it in his mouth. As he looks at her he sees, not the woman she’s grown up to be, but the young girl with pig tails and a large pink bow. He shakes his head and speaks softly to her.

“Whatever you say, Helga.”


	20. Chapter 20

Saturday has come, much to Arnold’s delight. He has two days in a row where he doesn’t have to worry about leaving Helga to go to work. He stands at the bathroom mirror and looks at his reflection through the fogged up glass. He strokes his freshly shaven chin and wonders what he’d look like with a beard. He’s thought about growing one in the past but every time he’d start Helga would throw a fit.

“What is it that you have against beards?” He’d ask, and she always had the same excuse.

“I have nothing against beards, I think beards are perfectly fine. On the right people.”

“Am I not a right enough person?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because.”

“Because why?” He knows what her answer will be, he just always likes forcing her to say what she’s really thinking. It always brings a blush to her face and he likes that.

“Because,” She says through a frustrated huff, “I like looking at your stupid face, allll of your face, okay? I like looking at your features, the little crooked smirk you get sometimes when you smile. I like feeling my cheek against the smoothness of your face when we cuddle. Doi! Now just……. shut-up and shave. Criminy!”

And it’s only because of these reasons for her wanting him to shave that he does it. 

Finishing up now he returns to the bedroom and finds her looking at her cell phone.

“What are you studying so intently? Somebody post some juicy gossip on Facebook?”

“No, I’m just looking at the calendar. I’ve been on bedrest now for two weeks. That means only two more weeks until we hit the safe zone.”

Arnold sits next to her and places a hand on her shoulder.

“You know, Helga that will only put us at 37 weeks. Yes it’s closer but it’s still not the full 40 weeks. The baby can still have breathing problems and stuff.”

“True, but it still could be perfectly fine. You know due dates are never 100 percent precise. We could have messed up on our calculations. I could actually be further along than we think, or …”

He interrupts her train of thought. “I just don’t want you treating the 37th week point as some sort of miracle number. We’re not out of the woods until this baby is delivered and home with us safe and sound.” He gives her leg a pat as he says, “Now, let’s get you up and downstairs for a change of scenery, okay?”

With a pout on her lips she nods in agreement and the two move downstairs for the day.

….. 

He sets her up on the couch in the family room. She mindlessly flips through one of Olga’s parenting magazines when she hears the doorbell. She wonders who it could be since they weren’t expecting anyone to be dropping by. She’s surprised to hear her parent’s voices. She greets them as they enter the room.

“Bob. Miriam. What a surprise.”

“Uh, hi there Helga.” Bob says awkwardly.

“Hello Helga dear.” Her mom says as she leans down to hug her.

Miriam takes a seat on the couch by Helga’s feet as Bob makes his exit. She picks up a grape she sees lying on the floor, placing it on the coffee table as Helga chuckles inwardly at the memory it brings to her.

“I think Alfre…I mean Arnold needs me. I be back in a bit.” Bob says as he leaves the room.

Helga watches him leave thinking to herself that that was strange, even for Bob. She turns back to her mom.

“Sooo, am I forgetting something here? Did we have plans today?”

“Oh, no, dear, we just thought we’d stop by and see how things are going.”

“Umm, okaaay, I guess.”

The doorbell rings again and Helga hears Arnold’s footsteps as rushes down the hall to answer the door. “Is that Harold’s voice?” Helga thinks to herself.

“Hi Arnald.” Harold says, “Where should I put the…..”

Arnold brings a finger to his lips cutting Harold off. He pulls Harold close and they talk in a whispered hush.

This goes on for a while, people unexpectedly showing up on their doorstep, stopping off at the family room to say a quick hello to Helga before rushing down the hallway. Helga realizes something’s up but has no clue as to what it could be. 

As the morning progresses she hears the sounds of furniture being moved and footsteps as they go up and down the stairs that lead to the basement. She hears the back door being opened and shut, people coming and going. When she begins to smell the faint scent of paint her suspicions grow. 

She’s mostly left to her own with people checking in on her every so often to make sure she’s okay. She tries to use the upstairs bathroom at one point and is stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

“You shouldn’t be going up and down the stairs so much.” Arnold says, “Use the bathroom down here.”

“But I don’t want to use the one down here, I want our bathroom upstairs.” She argues.

Her mom intervenes taking her by the shoulders and leading her to the downstairs bathroom. “Oh now Helga, listen to your husband. There’s a perfectly good bathroom right here.”

She obliges against her will and tries to sneak a peek upstairs as she enters the small room. All she sees at the top of the stairs is Olga talking to Patty. They see her looking at them and walk down the hall, out of her line of sight.

“Why is everyone being so mysterious?” She wonders as she closes the bathroom door behind her.

 

…….. 

 

Morning turns in to late afternoon as more people come and go, further adding to the mystery. She hasn’t seen Arnold for a while which is very strange. She kind of misses his constant checking up on her. She checks the time and realizes she’s been sitting downstairs for ten hours now. Ten hours of covert activity going on while she sits stuck on the couch, only allowed to get up to pee. 

Finally, right when she’s certain she’s going to lose her mind, Arnold comes in to the family room. He has a childlike grin on his face as he kneels down in front of her. He takes her face in his hands and pulls her in for a kiss. She looks at him and sees faint smudges of light green paint across one cheek. His shirt is splattered here and there with the same color paint and there is some under his fingernails. 

Looking into his eyes she asks, “So, are you going to tell me what’s been going on all day now?”

He smiles and stands up. “Even better.” He says. “I’m going to show you.”

He helps her up from the couch and they slowly walk up the stairs. They walk down the hallway and stop at the room that is across the hall from theirs. The door is closed and there is a big red ribbon and bow across it. Before they enter the room Arnold turns her towards him.

“I want you to know that I had had all these plans on working on the nursery with you, just us, side by side. But when things with your condition took a turn I realized that that was going to be out of the question. That’s when our friends and your family stepped up and offered to help. So think of this as a little gift from all of us to you.”

Helga gives him a smile and removes the ribbon from the door. Grabbing the doorknob she slowly opens it and steps inside and is met, once again, with a hearty “Surprise!” 

The first thing she sees is her family standing in front of a group of their friends. Even Samuel is there, the same light green paint colors part of his hair. Everyone gathers around her now and she looks from face to face, thanking everyone. She turns in a circle as she scans the walls. The background of the walls are painted in a light green. The ceiling in a sky blue with white clouds dotted here and there. On one wall is the start of a mural. It’s of a jungle scene with lush tropical plants around a pool of water. There is a cliff to one side of it, water cascades down it into the pool below. There are outlines showing where various animals will go. It’s a project for Olga to work on during the days that she is at the house with Helga. A curtain hangs over the one window in the room. Its pattern matching that of the comforter that sits in the crib Helga received at her shower. There is a beautiful bent wood rocker with another large bow on it.

She walks over to it, running her hand on the smooth wood.

“This is beautiful.” She says, looking at Arnold. “Who is it from?”

He takes her arm and helps her to sit down into it.

“It’s from my co-workers. There’s a card that goes with it, you can read it later.

She looks and sees that the closet and dresser both stand opened. They are both filled with the clothes she’d received at her two previous baby showers. On the dresser next to the crib sits a high tech baby monitor, compliments of Big Bob’s Electronics Emporium. 

“I don’t believe all this. You guys are incredible. I don’t even know how to begin to thank you all.”

“Oh Baby Sister,” Olga begins, speaking for the group, “There’s no need to thank us, this is what you do for someone you love.”

She was doing a pretty good job of holding on to her feelings and not having a melt-down of tears. That is, until Big Bob opened his mouth and spoke up. 

“That’s right little lady, this is just our way of showing you that we love you.”

Hearing Big Bob say that was too much. Helga loses all control and sobs as she sits in the rocker. “Ugh, these damn hormones.” She thinks to herself. It seems like all she does now a days is cry at every little thing. 

Eventually Helga is ushered back to her spot on the couch, her friends and family mingling together as they enjoy pizza and beer, compliments of Big Bob. 

…………. 

She sits up in bed later that night, talking to Phoebe on her cell phone. Arnold sits next to her reading the card that all his work mates had signed. 

“I can’t tell you how much I really wish I could have been there.” Phoebe says.

“I know, Pheebs. I missed not having you here as part of the group.”

“I hope Gerald did his part and pulled his weight.”

Helga gives a little giggle. “Gerald was great, well, except for when he spilled paint on Samuel’s head but he swears it was an accident. At least that’s what everyone is telling me.”

“So how are you handling bed rest? You must be going stir crazy.”

“You can say that again! All I do is sit and sleep then sit some more. I don’t know if I will be able to stand five more weeks of this. When do you get your next break? I reeeally want to see you.”

“Unfortunately it might not be until winter break. I’m going to try to come home at Thanksgiving but it will all depend on my workload.”

“I hope you are able to make it for Thanksgiving, Gerald really misses you.”

“I know, and I miss him too. Wow, we’ve been talking for over an hour, I should let you go. I’ll call and check up on you next chance I get. Bye, Helga.”

“Okay, Pheebs, good luck with school. Bye.”

She hangs up and gives a sigh. Phoebe has been her best friend for as long as she can remember. Arnold looks at Helga now and places his arm around her shoulders.

“You miss her, don’t you.”

Helga leans her head on his shoulder. “Yeah, I really do.”

She snuggles into his bare chest, he’s freshly showered and smells good. Her hand slowly runs up and down the front of him as she kisses him right over his heart.

“Mmmm, I’d jump your bones right now and do you until you begged for me to stop if I wasn’t so tired.”

Her sudden declaration makes him chuckle and he squeezes her in a hug.

“Oh really now. And what if I never wanted you to stop?”

Through a yawn her words trail off as she says, “Well……then…….I’d…….havvve…….tooo…..”

She’s asleep before she can finish her sentence. Arnold turns off the light and closes his eyes. As he drifts off to sleep he thinks about all the different things she could do.


	21. Chapter 21

It’s quiet in the car as they drive back to the boarding house. They had just left the doctor’s office and were each, in their own heads, contemplating what the doctor had told them. It wasn’t the worse news they could have gotten, but it wasn’t the best either. Arnold lets the doctor’s words sink in as he drives.

“You’ve started to dilate again.” Dr. Johnson says to Helga as she washes her hands. “You are now at three centimeters. I don’t want you to be too worried over it but at the same time, I want you to watch your symptoms very closely. The baby is growing and I have no reason to think there is anything wrong there, but, like I said before, if the contractions get worse or there’s any bleeding call me.”

Arnold stands by Helga’s side, his arm around her as she leans into him. He can feel the nod of her head as her silent response of agreement.

“Your protein levels and blood pressure are still high also. I know these next couple of weeks are going to be stressful for you but hang in there, you’re almost at the finish line.”

“At least she ended on a positive note.” Arnold figures as he pulls into their driveway. Once inside he helps Helga up to bed and sits down next to her.

“You feel like company for a while?” He asks as he brushes a stray hair from her eyes.

“No, I think I want to be alone for a bit.” Her voice is distant, and she doesn’t look up at him as she speaks. He’s worried about depressions settling in on her but, at the moment, doesn’t know what to do about it. 

Giving her a kiss on the cheek he places his forehead to hers. “Okay, I’ll leave you alone for a little bit. Keep thinking about what the doctor said at the end, Helga, we’re almost there.”

She nods her head and turns onto her side away from him. She faces the window where she just stares. She hears the door close and the quiet of the room is broken by her soft sobs. 

He walks to the living room and sits down on the couch. Leaning back he rubs his face with his hands. All through his life he’s always been the one that people would come to for answers. He was the problem solver, the Guru of the neighborhood so to speak. He thinks back to his PS 118 days and how he calmly talked Harold in to giving that little kitten he had found back to its rightful owner. He remembers when Nadine and Rhonda got into a huge fight once and he was the one to bring them back together. The list went on and on and he couldn’t help but sit and wonder where everyone was now that it was he who was in the need of picking up. 

He thinks of his grandparents and really misses them. As a kid they were his support group, always there when it really mattered. He could go to them with any question or problem. Yes, the answers they would give him were sometimes cryptic and odd, but he believes that was their way to force him to really think about the problem and come up with the answers that were right for him. 

He decides it’s time to call his grandparents and fill them in on what’s been going on. It’s been a good month or so since he’s talked to either of them and he is really eager to hear their voices. 

Finding their number in his contacts list he pushes the button. It rings a few times and he’s worried he’s going to get stuck with leaving a voicemail when finally the call is answered. He hears a moment of shuffling on the other side, then his grandmother’s voice come on.

“Welcome to the Tiki Lounge, Bwana speaking.”

“Grandma?”

“Why Kimba, is it you?!” 

“Ha, ha, yeah Grandma, I mean Bwana, it’s me, Kimba.”

“Well, to what do we owe the pleasure of your call? Is everything okay? How is Eleanor and the Little Prince?”

She’s taken to calling their baby her “Little Prince” and he wonders if, through her grandmotherly intuition, she knows if it’s boy.

“Yeah, well, that’s why I’m calling. Things aren’t going so well right now and I just really wanted to talk to you guys.”

He can hear Phil in the background asking who it is. His grandmother says something to him then the phone is put on speaker.

“Hey, is that you Shortman?” 

“Yeah Grandpa. How’s it going?”

“Ohhh, I’ve been better. Your Grandmother made her raspberry cobbler again last night and I’ve been dealing with it all day today.”

Arnold chuckles as he realizes that some things just never change.

“So what’s this your grandmother is telling me, things not going so well over there for you?”

“No, Grandpa, they’re not and I really just need someone to talk to.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right place, Shortman. Why don’t you lay it all on us and we’ll see what bit of sage advice we can give you.”

And so Arnold spends the next two hours talking to his grandparents. Laying everything on the line. Although their answers left him thinking even harder than before, they led him in a different direction then he was going on his own, making him see things more clearly. By the time he had said his good-byes he was feeling much better. Their talk had built him up and given him the strength he was going to need over the next few weeks. He felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and for the first time that day he felt like his old self. 

He thinks of his wife lying in bed and tries to come up with something to lift her spirits. After a bit he gets an idea and heads down to the basement. Finding the item he had placed in one of the workbench drawers for safe keeping he gets to work.

 

…… 

 

Helga opens her eyes and wonders just when she had dozed off. She couldn’t have been asleep for too long because her pillow was still wet from her tears. Still facing the window her eyes watch the clouds as they are blown by a gentle breeze. She watches what looks to her to be a flop eared rabbit as it blends with the head of a white, fluffy dragon, forming a sort of flop eared mutant. It stays that way for a moment before stretching out, its features becoming lost as it dissipates into nothingness. 

Having had a good cry, she thinks about what Arnold and Dr. Johnson had said. Yes, the situation was not optimal, but it wasn’t the worse it could be either. Suddenly missing him, she wonders what Arnold is up to. She grabs her phone and sends him a text.

She types a quick, “Hey, Hair Boy.” And sits and waits for his response. 

“Hey, what’s up? You okay?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just missing you. What’s you doing?”

“Nuttin’”

“What do you mean nothing? You have to be doing something.”

“Well, maybe what I’m doing is for me to know and you to find out.”

“Hmmm, a man of mystery huh?”

“Maybe.”

“I hate mysteries.”

“Too bad. You hungry?”

“I could eat something.”

“Yeah, like what?” 

“You.” 

“I’m not on the menu. How about some leftover pasta instead?” 

“Party pooper. If I have to I guess I could choke some down.”

“Oh, I know you, it takes more than that to choke you.”

“Pervert.”

“What? You started it! Okay, I’ll be up in a bit. We can have lunch together.” 

“Okay. Oh, and Hair Boy?”

“Yeah?” 

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Helga.” 

She never gets tired of hearing him say that and she smiles as she grabs her laptop figuring she could go through some emails while she waited. She filters through the usual amount of spam and advertisements when she comes across an interesting looking one from a magazine that had printed a few of her short stories about a year or so ago. Reading it she becomes very excited.

When Arnold enters the bedroom with a brown bag that contains their lunch, he is surprised to see her sitting up with a smile on her face.

“Hey, you’re smiling, what’s got you so happy? Besides me, of course.” He gives her a quick wink.

She points to her laptop, “Come here, sit down, I want to show you something.”

Sitting next to her he starts unloading their lunch from the bag. “Okay, what so exciting?”

“Remember that magazine that bought a couple of my stories from our old PS 118 days?”

“Yeah, they coming back for more?”

“No, better. They found out about my pregnancy and are interested in hiring me on to work on their online site as a Blogger. They want me to write about day to day life as a new mother. A sort of online journal. I’ll only have to submit two entries a week, leaving me plenty of time to still keep my current job!”

“I don’t know, Helga, are you sure you will be able to handle added work once the baby comes?”

“Piece of cake. It’s writing, it’s what I do. Think about it, all it will consist of is writing about things that have already happened. Our experiences and feelings.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. WE? As in you’ll be writing about me too?”

“Of course, you’re the father, and my husband. You play a pretty big part in this too you know. Look, it says they want little anecdotal stories and our thoughts that run through our heads as we struggle through trying to figure out life as new parents. See easy peasy lemon squeezie!”

She scrolls down a bit further in the email.

“And look at the pay, if I’m a success and they keep me on you can cut back on your summer hours at the electronics emporium. Maybe only work there three days a week instead of five!”

“Are you sure your other job will be okay with it?”

“Babe, that’s why I work independently, so I can take whatever jobs I want. As long as I get my articles in on time no one cares.”

She is beaming now, her grin traveling from one side of her face to the other. In his mind this email couldn’t have come at a better time.

She looks at him expectantly, “So? What do you say, do I have your backing on this?”

“As long as you’re sure you can handle it, then yes, I fully support you.”

She gives a squeal as she bounces doing a little bed rest happy dance. 

“When is the first article due?”

She scans the email. “Good question, let’s see. It says here, I’m to inform them when I have the baby and the first post is due one month later, then twice a week after that.”

“How long is the assignment for?”

“Ummm, it’s a six month contract with an option on their part to extend it if it is well received.”

“Well, as long as you also have the option to not renew the contract if it’s not working for you then I say it sounds good. Congratulations.”

He leans over, giving her a quick kiss. The sparkle has come back to her eyes and it makes him happy which, in turn, relieves a bit of the pressure he’s been feeling. He pulls out two containers filled with warmed up pasta and they chat happily as they eat.

“So,” she says through a mouthful of noodles, “You going to tell me what you were working on so covertly earlier?”

“Nope.” He says as he bops her nose with his fork.

“You can really be a brat sometimes, you know that?”

“Yep.” He says proudly, “And you know you love it.”

“Stupid Hair Boy.” She mumbles under her breath as she scoops up another forkful of pasta.

“What was that you said?” He asks through a fake scowl.

“Nothing.”

“That’s what I thought.”


	22. Chapter 22

Slowly, September makes its gradual fade into October. The days are getting shorter and the nights colder. He wakes up before his alarm goes off and he rolls over turning it off before it has a chance to wake up Helga. The air in the drafty old boarding house is cold so he burrows down into the covers and inches his way towards his sleeping wife. At almost 38 weeks pregnant now her body radiates heat making her his own personal space heater. She’s warm and inviting as he snuggles up close and he can’t help pressing himself against her. As his one arm wraps around her he buries his face into her hair. “Oh God,” he thinks to himself, “She feels so damn good.” 

His lust starts to rise and he can feel himself growing hard, so he moves away from her, rolling on to his back. He rubs his face with his hands as he stares up at the ceiling. It’s been at least three weeks since they’ve been together in “that way” and it’s driving him crazy. He has to force himself to stop thinking about how good it would feel to be inside her, “deep, deep inside her.” He shakes his head trying to get the thought out of his mind.

She’s not been feeling well lately and that, combined with her continuing lack of energy and being just plain uncomfortable, has left very little interest on her part in the romance department. He thinks about the no sex for six weeks after the birth policy and adds that to the three weeks that have already passed, adding another possible week or two until the baby comes and he wonders just how he’ll survive it. Oh, sure, there are other ways towards satisfaction but they don’t compare to the real thing. A thing they’ve done on an almost daily basis since their first time. 

Their first time. He remembers it with a smile. She looked so sweet and innocent laying there under that outrageously big tree Big Bob always bought. Oh, and she felt sooo good, and warm, and snug. They were the perfect fit. He chuckles over how quick it went. Wham bam thank you mam, but what can you expect from a teen aged boy’s first time. 

She was so shy the first few times they were together, but as time went on and she became more relaxed with him, things certainly did change. When she was really turned on her rough, take no prisoners, tomboy side would come out and he loved it. It was primal and urgent and it made his blood race, making him feel alive. Many were the times he’d find himself explaining away a bruise here or a bite mark there. And scratch marks on his back? Yeah, they became common place. 

Another thing she loved was doing it in odd places. At school it was this little supply closet on the third floor, or in the costume room in the high school’s little theater. He remembers being at school late one night. He can’t remember why they were there but he does remember Helga leading him to the small theater. The stage was set up for the next day’s performance of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Sitting in the middle of the stage was a prop bed. He remembers being led onto the stage and thrown down onto the bed then quickly ravished in the dark. He couldn’t see anything, but he could feel every touch. The softness of her lips on his chest each time she tore open one of his shirt buttons. Her hands as she worked the zipper of his pants. Her firm grip as she held him while she slipped down onto him. Once finished they quickly made for the back stage exit. The door hadn’t even finished closing all the way when the theater’s lights came on and they heard the familiar whistle of the janitor. 

Another favorite was the old tree house they used to play in as kids, although, he does have to admit, they weren’t the first nor the only ones that used, what had come to be known as “The Love Shack”, for such purposes. As a matter of fact, by the time they hit high school, it was already common knowledge that if you saw a certain pair of beat up red high tops hanging from the lookout railing, then it was your que to just keep walking because that meant that said “Shack” was currently in use. The only difference with Helga was that she never put the high tops on the railing. She said it made it more exciting that way.

Thinking about the past only makes him grow more frustrated which makes him start to feel guilty over indulging in his little pity party while his wife lays next to him uncomfortable and huge. So he decides to get up a little early and make her a big breakfast of her favorites, pancakes AND French toast. Also, as a special treat he decides that he’s even going to let her have a couple of pieces of bacon, and why not. They made it past their target goal of 37 weeks so now all that was left was for little Arnelga to put on as much weight as he or she can before the big day. Plus, he really didn’t think two slices of bacon would hurt anything. 

….. 

 

With Arnold gone their bed becomes cold and Helga backs herself up thinking she can snuggle and use Arnold’s body heat to warm her up. Feeling nothing but cold sheets she opens her eyes. Finding herself alone she starts to pout as she props herself up. She has to pee really badly so she slowly makes her way to the bathroom when the scent of something glorious hits her nose. “No way!” She thinks to herself, “Is that really bacon I smell!” She hurries with her business then stands at the top of the stairs and calls down to Arnold.

“Hey, Arnoldo!”

He steps into the hallway and looks up to where she is standing. “Hey, what are you doing out of bed?”

“I had to pee. Is that really bacon I smell?”

“Yes, you ruined the surprise. Get your butt back in bed or you won’t get any.”

“Okay, geeze. A girl can’t even enjoy the smell of frying pork fat without getting yelled at.” She grumbles as she climbs back in to bed.

She picks up her phone and flips around on her Facebook page looking to see what, if any, major events have occurred over night. 

Scrolling upwards she sees Phoebe’s daily inspirational quote, a raunchy joke from Sid, a check-in from Rhonda with a picture of her in the snow in Aspen, standing on a snowboard as she sports an outfit from Burton’s current line. She can’t help but laugh since she knows Rhonda’s never even touched a snowboard let alone been on one. 

Her laughing is interrupted by Arnold as he brings in their breakfast.

“What’s so funny, another classic from Sid?”

“Hah, no, even better, it’s a picture of Princess Rhonda on a snowboard in Aspen.”

“I thought she hated the snow.”

“She does.”

“Then why is she in Aspen at this time of year?”

“It’s for a photo shoot, doi.”

“Ohhh, and hey! Watch who you’re doi’ing or no bacon for you.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“Okay, that’s better.”

He hands her the tray of food and crawls up next to her. Once settled he takes the tray back and hands her a plate of food. She immediately goes for her first piece of bacon, taking a big bite. She lets it sit in her mouth for a minute, savoring the salty goodness.

“Oh my God, this tastes sooo good!”

“Well enjoy it because it’s all you get until after the baby comes.”

She surveys the rest of the plate as she chews her bacon.

“Pancakes and French toast, along with bacon? What’s the occasion for such a grand meal?”

“I was just thinking you deserved a treat. I know how hard this past month’s been for you. Plus, it’s a sort of celebration for making it past the 37 week mark.” 

The breakfast did the trick, it made Helga happy and helped to ease his guilty conscience. Satisfied with the way things turned out he cleaned up breakfast before coming back upstairs to kiss his wife good-bye.

“I’ll call you in a couple of hours to see how things are going.” He says as he quickly kisses her. 

 

………. 

 

Olga arrives at the boarding house and says a fast hello to Arnold as he rushes out the door. After checking on Helga she goes into the nursery to put the final finishing touches on the mural. She’s been working on it each time she’s come to sit with Helga and is pretty proud at how well it’s turned out. Even Helga has to admit that she’s done a great job with it.

It’s been a few hours since Arnold left and Helga is starting to feel antsy. A weird feeling has come over her and she can’t quite put her finger on what it is. She has this sudden urge to move. She feels that if she spends one more second sitting on her butt she’s going to go insane so she gets up and walks over to the nursery to see how Olga’s doing.

Olga is surprised to see Helga up and walking around. “Baby Sister, what are you doing up?” 

Helga stands with her hands on her lower back. “I don’t know, I just had this sudden urge to be up and moving. I guess all these weeks of bed rest are finally catching up to me.”

“Would you like to set up camp downstairs? I can bring your stuff to the family room.”

“That might be good, maybe I’ll find something on TV to keep me entertained.”

A few minutes later Helga is propped up on the couch flipping through the channels without really paying attention to what’s on. She gets that antsy feeling again. She gets up and starts to pace the room. This goes on for a few minutes then stops as suddenly as it started. For a brief moment she thinks about mentioning it to Olga but dismisses it. She wonders if perhaps it’s the bacon she ate that’s affecting her. “Of course.” She thinks to herself. After all, you don’t eat healthy for weeks then pig out on pork fat without some sort of consequence.

By noon Helga decides she wants to have lunch in the kitchen. She finds that it’s more comfortable for her to sit in a hard back chair rather than the soft couch. Olga makes them both a nice lunch but Helga isn’t really hungry. She sits poking at her food as her sister gives her a questioning look.

“Are you sure you’re feeling alright Baby Sister?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just feel a little off. Arnold made us a wonderful breakfast this morning and as a special treat he even made bacon. It was so delicious, but now I think I’m paying the price for having eaten it.”

“You having heartburn?”

“Something like that. I guess my system just got used to all the healthy food you and Arnold have been feeding me.”

“Well if you’re still feeling this way tomorrow maybe you should call the doctor.”

“Good idea, I will but I really think I’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

The rest of the day goes by much like the morning, but by late afternoon it seems that Helga’s symptoms have passed and she heads upstairs to take up her usual spot in bed where she stays for the rest of the day. By the time Arnold gets home she’s back to her old self.

 

……… 

 

It had been a long day for Helga and by 8:00 she is fast asleep. She was sleeping pretty soundly until sometime around four in the morning. She is awakened by a strange pressure in her stomach area. It only lasted a few seconds and she wonders if she had dreamed it. Another twenty minutes pass when she is once again wakened from her sleep with the same pressure. Leary this time it takes her longer to fall back asleep. By the fourth time she feels like she has to pee so she gets up and quietly heads to the bathroom not wanting to wake Arnold up. He was in a sound sleep and by the way he was tossing and turning she could tell he was in the middle of a deep dream.

Once she’s finished her business she starts to head for the door when she is stopped by a sudden pain in her back, followed by a stronger tightening in her stomach. Right as the back pain hits she feels a rush of warm water cascade down her legs. Standing in a puddle of water she knows immediately what is going on. Holding on to the edge of the sink she lets out a loud yell. “ARRRNNNOOOLLLLLDDDD!!!”

…. 

Once Helga met and surpassed their goal of making it to at least 37 weeks Arnold's nightmares had ceased. With a major load of the pressure off his shoulders his sleeping mind now keeps turning towards thoughts more erotic in nature. 

In tonight’s dream he has Helga pinned down beneath him, her hands tied tightly behind her back. She is blindfolded and spouting obscenities at him as he has his way with her. He is rough, but that’s okay because he knows that’s how she likes it. He is relentless as he bores in to her, quickening his pace when she starts to moan. Her voice starts off slow in his ear as she draws out his name in long syllables “ohhh-arrr-nooolll-dddd ARR-NOLLLDDD-ARRRNOLLLDDDD!!!” 

“ARRRNNNOOOLLLLDDDD!!!” He is jolted awake by her yelling. He jumps out of bed and runs down the hall following her yells to the bathroom. Swinging the door open, he sees her standing with one hand holding on to the sink. There’s a pool of water at her feet. He looks from the water to her face. She looks at him, eyes wide and scared.

“It’s happening.” Is all she can get out.


	23. Chapter 23

“ARRRNNNOOOLLLLDDDD!!!” He is jolted awake by her yelling. He jumps out of bed and runs down the hall following her yells to the bathroom. Swinging the door open, he sees her standing with one hand holding on to the sink. There’s a pool of water at her feet. He looks from the water to her face. She looks at him, eyes wide and scared.

“It’s happening.” Is all she can get out as she tries to come to grips with what is happening. 

“No, it can’t be, you still have two more weeks.”

“Well, try telling that to my uterus because it’s saying something different!”

“Okay, okay, we got this. What did the books say?” He looks down at the floor then lifts his eyes back to her face as he points to the floor. “That’s – water, your water broke.”

“Doi, Einstein, tell me something I don’t know.”

“Now listen, Helga, I’m only trying to help here.”

“Okay-AAAAYYYY!!! Arnold, it’s happening again, what do I do!?” 

“Try to relax, go with it, don’t fight the pain. We’re supposed to time the contractions, how long has it been since the last one?”

“I don’t know, twenty minutes, maybe more.”

“Twenty. Right. But you’re not sure. I need the books.”

He runs out of the bathroom leaving Helga still standing in the puddle of water.

“ARNOLD! Get back here Football Head!”

“What? Oh, you’re still wet. You need a towel?”

“What do you think?”

“A towel, okay I’ll help you.”

He dries off her legs then drops the towel on the floor to sop up the puddle. They walk back to the bedroom where Helga puts on a clean nightgown and sits on the bed. Arnold grabs one of their parenting books and starts frantically flipping through the pages.

“Okay, here we go, here’s the chapter we need. ‘So You Think You’re In Labor.’” He reads out loud.

“Ummm, my water broke, I’m having contractions, yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m in labor, doi. Find something helpful, will you.”

He gives her an annoyed glare then continues to flip through the chapter.

“This is crazy.” He sits down next to Helga and takes her hands into his. “We’re panicking. We know what to do, we’ve taken the classes and have read all the books. We need to calm down.”

She stares into his green eyes, transfixed. They act as an anchor grounding her, keeping her from being swept away in her panic. Her breathing starts to calm and she begins to think more rationally.

“You’re right.” She says, not looking away. “First things first, we need to time the contractions.”

Arnold gets up and rummages through his dresser drawer. He finds what he’s looking for and sits back down on the bed.

“Here, look. We can use this old stopwatch. The minute the next contraction comes on we’ll start timing it.”

She nods her head in agreement and holds his hand once again.

“We know the beginning stages of labor can take a while and one of the books suggested that it would be a good idea to maybe shower since we don’t know how long this whole ordeal is going to take.”

“I remember that. Okay I can do that but you’ll stay with me, right?”

He places a hand on her cheek. “Of course, babe, I won’t leave you.”

“Okay.” She gives him a smile as she gets up and they head back to the bathroom.

He gets in the shower with her, the water is hot and it quickly steams up the small room. She stands with her eyes closed as he gently washes her hair, rolling his fingertips in small circles as he massages her scalp. It relaxes her and she leans back against his chest.

He pulls the shower head from its base, directing the spray to the top of her head. The fragrant lather slips past her shoulders and dissipates as it slides down her body. He turns the spray to pulsate and concentrates it on her neck and shoulders. His free arm wraps around to the front of her body, his hand resting on her stomach. He kisses her shoulder as he whispers to her that everything’s going to be alright. 

Ten minutes later they are dried off and back in the bedroom.

“You know, Helga, it’s been at least 25 minutes since that last contraction you had. This could take a while. Why don’t you lay down and try to rest?”

“I’m too nervous to rest. When do you think we should we call the doctor?”

“Maybe not until the contractions become regular and not so random. Didn’t Dr. Johnson say to call when they are about fifteen minutes apart?”

No sooner does Arnold finish his sentence when Helga gets another contraction. Her eyes grow wide as she looks at him.

“It’s happening again, I’m having another contraction!”

She stands up and paces the floor as the contraction builds. This one’s a little bit stronger than the last and lasts just a tad bit longer. Arnold grabs the stopwatch and hits the button to begin timing how long it takes until the next contraction.

“Okay, that wasn’t so bad. I can handle that. Now what?

“I don’t know, just sit and wait for the next one. Your hospital bag is packed right?”

“Yes, and I packed you, well, Olga packed you a backpack with snacks and stuff for the hospital too. All that’s left is the waiting I guess.”

They sit back down on the bed, he puts his arm around her shoulders and she leans against him.

“Can you believe it?” He says, “In just a few hours we’re going to be parents.” 

“I know.” 

She turns to look at him, speaking softly. “Arnold?”

“Yes?”

“I’ve loved you for a very long time.”

“I know.”

“Ever since I was a very young girl all I’ve ever wanted was to be with you. I would lay in my bed and dream of the day you would come to me and tell me that you loved me. I would dream of you, write poems to you, my heart ached for you.”

He places a soft kiss on her forehead as she continues.

“When the day came when you finally told me you loved me I thought that was the happiest day in my life. Then when we got married I thought THAT was the happiest day in my life. But I was wrong.”

“Oh yeah? How so?”

“Because I am 100% sure that right now I am the happiest and most content I’ve ever been. I’m nervous and scared, but soooo very happy.”

“I’m happy too. To be honest, I think I’ve kind of always felt something for you from the very moment we met.”

“You mean all the way back to preschool?”

“Yeah, back when I first saw you standing alone in the rain. I remember you had such a sad, scared look on your face. When I held the umbrella for you and we stood together under it you smiled and you looked so pretty to me and you were so shy and sweet. I thought to myself someone so nice should never be sad. So from that day on I guess I just sort of subconsciously took it upon myself to always try to make you smile. No matter how mean you treated me.”

“All that time.” She ponders, “I wonder how differently life would have been growing up if we knew how we each really felt about each other.” 

“I don’t know. We’d have probably messed things up. Things happen for a reason and maybe we needed the adversity in order for us to be where we are now.”

“Maybe you’re right.” 

She leans in to kiss him, their lips barely touching, when her eyes get wide as she feels what is becoming to be a familiar tingling in her lower back. She pulls away from Arnold and looks down at her stomach.

“Ohhh boy, here we go again!” She exclaims.

He checks the stopwatch. “Twenty-five minutes.” He says before resetting it so he can start timing again.

Helga places her hands on her stomach, she can feel the muscles tighten as her stomach becomes hard. It’s painful, but not horrible.

Arnold looks at the bed side clock. “How long were you having these contractions before you woke me up?”

She tries to put her finger on when her symptoms actually started.

“It’s hard to say. I was feeling off yesterday, I just had a feeling like something was changing. I didn’t say anything because it wasn’t really anything particular I could pinpoint.”

“Helga, you should have said something anyway.”

“Why? So you could stay up all night worrying? Especially when I wasn’t even sure myself? Besides, what could you have done?”

“I could have shared in your concern so you weren’t going through it alone.”

“No, there was no use in both of us worrying about it. Besides, you’re by my side now, when it really counts. Right?”

“Okay, I’ll give that one to you. So, you want to stay in bed or do you want to go downstairs? I can make you a light breakfast if you’re hungry.”

“I could go for something light. I’m thirsty too.”

“Okay then.” Arnold gets up and offers her his hand. “Come on, I’ll race you to the kitchen.”

“Very funny.” She says through a smile as she takes his hand and they walk downstairs.

 

……. 

 

They sit across from each other at the kitchen table. Arnold has made a light breakfast of toast, some scrambled eggs and fruit. Helga plays with her food as she slowly eats. Mid way through a drink of water she feels the familiar tingle in her back. 

“Here we go again.” She says as Arnold checks the stopwatch.

“This time it’s been twenty minutes. How was this one? Did it feel any stronger?”

“Not really, it was just like the rest.”

And so the morning goes. The contractions come and the contractions go. Some closer together than others but none of them regular enough or close together enough yet to bother calling the doctor over. 

Early evening comes, it’s been 14 hours since she first woke Arnold up. They have just finished a light dinner of Olga’s homemade pasta salad and French bread and are sitting on the couch in the family room when Helga is hit with her first real contraction.

“Ooofff!” She exclaims as she sits up straight. The pain stabs at her back then makes its way around to the front of her stomach where clamps down like a vise. “Oooohhhhmmyyygooodddd!!” She yells, startling Arnold.

“Helga! Are you okay?” His face is filled with concern as he reaches out and places a hand on her shoulder.

“C-c-contraction! T-time it!”

Arnold grabs the stopwatch and hits the button. 

“It’s only been fifteen minutes since the last one.” He says as he checks the time. 

Helga breathes hard as she is released from the pain of the contraction.

“Oh man, that was a big one, and it hurt like a sonofabitch! I’m not sure I’ve thought this whole thing through enough, I don’t know if I want to go on.” She only half teases.

“Well it’s too late now, you’re kind of stuck.”

She stands up and starts to pace the room for a bit as she rubs her back. “That last contraction was NOT fun! What if I can’t handle this?”

He gets up and puts his arms around her, placing a kiss on her forehead. “You are Helga G. Shortman, you are probably the strongest, most tenacious woman I know. You can handle anything you put your mind to. I have absolute faith in you.”

He wraps her up in a hug and as he’s still holding her another contraction comes on. He swears he can actually feel her stomach harden against him. She breaks from his embrace and paces the room.

“AAAHHH! Okay, that’s another big one. How long has it been?”

Checking the stopwatch Arnold says. “Fifteen minutes. That’s two contractions fifteen minutes apart now. If the next few are the same I’m calling the doctor.”

“Okay, sounds good.” Helga says as the contraction begins to lessen.

Sure enough, the next few contractions are not only fifteen minutes apart but have grown more painful too. 

With Helga’s symptoms of preeclampsia, Dr. Johnson had instructed them to call when the contractions become fifteen minutes apart and have been that way for one hour. So, after the fourth contraction Arnold picks up the phone and makes the call. 

Ten minutes later they have the Packard loaded up and are on their way. As Arnold drives Helga begins sending out the word that labor has begun and they are headed for the hospital. 

After texting both sides of the family Helga goes into her contacts list and finds the group marked “Gang Emergency Texts.” She made it one year after Harold had accidentally broken his arm in a snowboarding accident. Arnold, Gerald, Sid, Brainy and Harold had gotten together for a guy’s weekend in the snow. While showing off his skills on the resort’s half-pipe he fell wrong and landed hard on his arm resulting in a compound fracture of his left radius. Phone calls were made but somehow through the confusion no one ever called Patty. It wasn’t until the next day when Phoebe asked her how Harold was holding up that she found out. Needless to say she was furious. So in an effort to make sure no one was ever left out of any important messages again Helga put together this group and made sure everyone added it to their contacts list. 

Another contraction comes on as she starts to inform the group that they are on their way to the hospital so all she types is a hasty “It’s Baby Time!” before hitting the send button and turning off her phone figuring that once at the hospital Arnold can answer any of their questions since she’ll have more important things on her mind.

They finally arrive at the hospital and go through the hassle of getting checked in. Helga has two more contractions before being taken to a room where she will be checked over by a nurse. Having verified that Helga is indeed in labor she is sent to be admitted into a labor and delivery room.

Back in a wheelchair, she is pushed down a hallway to the labor and delivery wing. As the automatic double doors open she takes in the scene before them. The bright lights reflect up from the highly polished floors. There are a few nurses sitting behind a counter at the nurse’s station. A doctor goes into a room to check on a patient. She hears a muffled yell behind a closed door and thinks to herself that that will be her soon. 

She looks up to Arnold who takes her hand as the orderly pushes her to her room where a bed laden in fresh, crisp linen awaits her. The orderly leaves and Arnold helps her change into a hospital gown. He gently guides her into bed, and once settled she looks up to him.

He leans down and gently kisses her.

“You’ve got this.” He says just as the doctor comes walking through the door.


	24. Chapter 24

“Well Helga, Arnold,” Dr. Johnson says as she enters the room. “Here we are. How are you holding up Helga?”

“Okay so far.” Helga says as another contraction comes on.

Dr. Johnson helps to guide her through it. “Just relax and breathe. Tensing up just makes it worse. There you go, good job!”

Arnold has raised the top part of the bed and Helga now leans back against it. “That was another good one!” She says to the doctor.

“Well you handled it really well.”

Dr. Johnson walks over to the sink and after she washes her hands she puts on a pair of gloves.

“I’m just going to give you a quick check to see how your dilation process is coming along. Now if you’ll just relax.”

The doctor places one hand on Helga’s stomach as she inserts her fingers into Helga, feeling her dilated cervix.

“Seems you’re just about at five centimeters. We could be here for a while but don’t worry, we’ll do our best to make you as comfortable as we can.”

“Okay, doctor,” Arnold answers. “Is there anything we should be doing?”

“You just keep up with the moral support and as far as Helga goes, nature will take care of the rest. A nurse will be in shortly to start Helga on some fluids and to hook her up to some monitors. Unless I hear from the nurses, I’ll be back by to check on you in an hour.”

A few minutes after the doctor leaves a nurse comes in and gets to work attaching monitors and an IV. A strap is put across her stomach to monitor her contractions. 

Shortly afterwards the expectant, and nervous, parents are left on their own.

“So, I guess we just wait.” Helga says.

“Yeah, I guess so. Do you need anything?”

“No, not right now. Have you heard back from anyone?”

“Good question.” 

Arnold grabs his phone out of his pants pocket and turns it on. After a quick boot up the room is filled with a chorus of chimes. It seems everyone is anxious for any word on the delivery.

He goes through the messages one by one.

Olga: Samuel and I are so excited for you two! We will be at the hospital as soon as we can. We love you both!

Miriam: Oh this is so exciting! Bob and I are on our way, we love you!

Grandpa: Congratulations Shortman. Your grandmother and I wish we could be there for you. Give Helga our love.

Then came the myriad of responses from the group text.

Phoebe: Oh Helga, I’m so excited for you! I wish I could be there. Let me know when the baby finally comes. I love you guys.

Rhonda: So excited, keep me up-dated.

Patty: Yay, congratulations, we’ll be at the hospital soon!

Gerald: Great news Bro, I’m OMW!

And so on and so forth until everyone they texted has responded. Arnold didn’t expect that so many people would be coming to the hospital, especially as it is looking to be a long night. It’s already past 7:30 and Helga isn’t even a full five centimeters. 

“Um, it looks like there’s going to be a full house in the waiting room.” Arnold says as he shows Helga the text messages.

“I hope they realize that this could take all niiiiiiight! Here comes another one!”

Arnold watches the fetal monitor as it registers the contraction. It’s a strong one and he notices Helga’s grip on the bed rail.

“Helga, try to relax and breathe through it, let go of the railing, you’re tensing up.”

She shoots him a look and luckily the contraction passes and she can relax again.

Helga had made the decision to not take any medication during the labor unless absolutely necessary. After seeing her react to that last contraction Arnold wonders if she’ll stick to her vow or end up having an epidural. 

“You know, Helga, no one will think any less of you if you decide on an epidural.”

“No, no drugs. I can do this.”

“If you’re sure….”

“I’m sure.”

 

……….. 

 

Good to her word, the doctor is back in the room an hour after she left. Checking Helga she confirms that she is now almost at six centimeters.

“Just four more centimeters to go Helga. Perhaps you’ll have the baby before midnight.”

Both Helga and Arnold agree that that would be great.

A nurse comes in and asks if the couple is up for visitors. They agree to family only. The nurse allows only two at a time and ushers Miriam and Big Bob into the room. As soon as Miriam sees Helga the tears start falling. Helga fights hard to keep her own tears from coming. Miriam gives Helga a tight hug while Bob shakes Arnold’s hand.

“Oh Helga, your father and I are so happy for you both. I can’t believe that in just a few hours I’m going to be a grandma!”

“I know, Helga says, and I’m going to be a mom. It’s hard to wrap my head around it.”

Another contraction comes on, this one harder and longer than the last. Arnold steps up to hold Helga’s hand and help her breathe through it.

“Come on, Helga, remember your breathing.”

“He-he-whooo – He-he-whooo!” Helga chants as the contraction crests.

A little nervous now Bob makes up an excuse to leave the room and says they will see them again after the baby comes. Saying their good-byes, Helga’s parents head back to the waiting room.

A few minutes later the door reopens to reveal Olga and her husband Samuel. With a dramatic flair Olga rushes to Helga’s side throwing her arms around her.

“Oh Baby Sister, we have waited for this day to come and now it’s finally here! I just know you’re going to be the best mother ever!”

Olga’s crying, well, more like sobbing, as she talks about how she can’t wait to be an aunt and spoil the baby rotten. 

A look comes across Helga’s face and Arnold turns to Samuel.

“Uh-oh, its contraction time again.”

“How can you tell?” Samuel asks.

“By the fetal monitor, it shows the contractions on the screen, see.”

Samuel looks from the monitor screen to Helga and sees her red face as Olga helps her breathe through the contraction. His face starts to turn white and he has to sit down.

“Are you okay Samuel?” Arnold asks with concern.

“Yes, yes, I’ll be fine, I think I just need some air. Olga dear, we should leave these two alone and go meet your folks in the waiting room.”

“Okay Samuel.” Olga says, giving Helga and Arnold one last hug before leaving.

Finally, the last person they allow to come in to the room is Gerald. He’s very reserved and serious when he enters the room, surprising both Arnold and Helga. The light-hearted jokester is nowhere to be seen. He and Arnold share a look that only two guys that have been best friends since they were four-years-old can share. Without saying a word Gerald holds out his hand to Arnold for a real, adult, handshake. 

With a crack in his deep voice Gerald speaks up.

“Well, Arnold my man, this is it. You’ve reached the big time, you’re going to be a dad. I can hardly believe it.”

“I know Gerald, it’s all so surreal, you know?”

Gerald’s eyes start to well up and he fights very hard to keep those tears from falling.

“To think, just yesterday we were kids, running around the playground of PS 118, and now here you are going to be a dad in just a few hours. And with Helga G. Pataki no less!” He adds as a joke.

“I can hear you, you know!” Helga says from her bed.

Laughing, Gerald turns back to Arnold

“Seriously though, I can see how happy you and Helga are and, well, I’m happy for you Bro and I’m here for you if you guys ever need anything.”

Arnold starts to thank Gerald when he’s interrupted by a frantic Helga.

“Hello? Remember me? I hate to break up the bromance you two have going on but its contraction time again!”

Arnold runs to Helga’s side, and Gerald watches as she stares into her husband’s eyes while she mimics his rhythmic breathing. Arnold’s words become soft and kind as he talks her through the contraction. Gerald can see Helga visibly relax at the sound of his voice. He pulls out his phone and, zooming in, he snaps a picture of their faces as they stare into each other’s eyes. He thinks to himself, “If you were to look up the word love in the dictionary, this would be the picture you’d find.”

Once the contraction passes Arnold offers Helga some ice chips as she leans back to rest. He then walks back to Gerald and gives him a tired smile.

“It’s going to be a long night. We’ve been up since around four this morning. I don’t know where she’s getting the energy to go through this.”

“Hey, that’s Helga laying in that bed,” Gerald says nodding towards her, “I firmly believe that there is nothing she can’t handle.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Oh, and hey, thanks for being here, it means a lot to me.”

“Are you kidding, I wouldn’t miss out on this night for the world. And that goes for the rest of the gang too, everyone’s out there. It’s just too bad Phoebe can’t be here, I know she’s heartbroken over it.”

“Do us a favor and tell them all we say thanks, okay.”

“Sure, I will. Well, I guess I’ll leave you two at it. Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

Gerald gives Helga a quick hug and a kiss then quietly slips out the door as another contraction hits Helga hard.

“AAAHHHH, THIS ONE HURRRRRTTTSSSSS!!!!!”

“Come on Helga,” Arnold says in encouragement, “Concentrate and breathe, it will be over in a few seconds. You can do this! That’s right ………… there you go, almost over. Good girl, you did it!”

Each contractions leaves Helga just a little more drained and you can see the exhaustion on her face. She takes advantage of each down moment between contractions by closing her eyes and resting. Arnold takes a wash cloth from the bathroom and, having dampened it, wipes her forehead.

He starts to ask her if she needs anything when another contraction comes on. They are not only starting to come a little closer together, but the pain level is increasing too. A nurse comes in to see how Helga’s doing. She puts on a pair of gloves and checks to see if there’s been any progress.

“Dr. Johnson is with another patient right now so I will be checking to see how your labor is progressing.”

She is gentle as she probes Helga. 

“Oh, you’re at seven centimeters now, that’s great. It could be any time.”

She stays with the couple for a while, Helping Helga through a few contractions. They are coming every five minutes, leaving Helga very little time to rest in between. She’s pretty much stopped talking now and the most she gets out is a choice swear word here and there. 

Time passes slowly. Between contractions Arnold scavenges through the backpack Olga prepared for him. It’s filled with snacks and water. He makes a mental note to be sure to thank her for such a thoughtful gesture. After finishing a king sized Pay Day bar (his favorite, how did Olga know?) he looks at the clock on the wall which tells him that it is 11 PM. It’s been a full 19 hours since Helga first yelled for him. He’s exhausted and he wonders how she has the strength to keep going. “It’s got to be adrenaline.” He thinks to himself. 

He watches her face as she steals a couple of minutes of rest. Her eyes are closed and there is a serene sort of peace about her. Her breathing is deep and steady and there is a rosy flush to her cheeks. He thinks she is beautiful and he reaches out to touch her cheek. Slowly opening her eyes she looks up to him and a soft smile forms on her lips. She starts to say something but the words are pushed aside as a deep moan begins to escape her instead. 

She reaches for his hand and squeezes hard, then begins to yell.

“AAAAHHHH-AARRNOLLLD! IT HUURRRTSSSS!!”

“Breathe Helga, concentrate and breathe!”

“I CAAAANN’TTT! ITHURTS-ITHURTS-ITHURTS!!”

The contraction feels as if it is lasting forever but before long is lessens then stops. Helga closes her eyes, her chest heaves as she rubs her face with her hands.

“Oh God, Arnold, that hurt like a sonofabitch!”

“I’m so sorry Helga, I wish there was something more I could do.”

As he says that another contractions comes on, just as strong as the last. A nurse comes in and looks at the fetal monitor, noticing the frequency and strength of Helga’s contractions. She checks Helga again to find she has jumped to nine centimeters. The doctor is paged and it’s not too much longer before the real fun begins.

 

……. 

 

Dr. Johnson enters the room and notes the time as 11:30. She checks Helga as sees that she’s still at nine centimeters. 

“Okay guys,” She says to the anxious couple, “One more centimeter and its show time. I have a new patient that’s just been admitted, I need to go check on her then I’ll be back.”

The doctor leaves the room amidst protests from Helga.

“Wait!” Helga yells through a contraction, “Hee-Hee-Whoo, where, Hee-who, are you, Hee-Hee-Who, goooiiiing?!!”

“She’ll be right back, Helga, its okay.” Arnold says, trying to calm her down.

Helga glares at him. “Shut-up! She left me in the middle of delivering my baaaaby!”

“You’re not delivering the baby yet, you’re not even at ten centimeters.”

“How do YOU know, YOU’RE not a doctor now, are YOU!”

“She just checked you and said you are only at nine. Come on, try and relax.”

“I can’t relaaAAAXXX!!!” Another contraction comes on gripping Helga’s stomach and squeezing tight.

After an eternity Dr. Johnson finally returns to the room. She washes up and checks Helga again. By now its past midnight, they have rolled over into the next day with the last couple of hours having passed in a blur. Helga’s contractions are coming one right after the other, with no break from the pain.

“Good news ladies and gentlemen,” the doctor says, “We have reached liftoff. It’s go time.”

The doctor sends for a second nurse to aide in the delivery as Helga continues to work her way through her contractions. Arnold gives her what moral support he can but wishes there was more he could do. It hurts him to see his wife in so much pain but at the same time he can’t help but admire her for the strength she is showing as she goes through it all with no medication.

The contractions are almost constant now with no rest in between. A new sensation comes over Helga and she gets the urge to bare down and push the baby out. 

The hospital is set up with the latest and greatest equipment. One such item is the newest thing in birthing beds. With Helga in the final stages and the baby in position the nurses are able to lower the foot of the bed down so it slides underneath, transitioning the bed into a labor chair.

Placing Helga’s lower legs into the calf supports that hang off the end of the chair the doctor helps ease Helga into position.

The sensation to push becomes stronger and Helga wants to bare down.

“I want you to push for a count of ten, Helga, and then stop. Okay?” The doctor instructs her.

“Helga nods her head as she closes her eyes and pushes.”

Arnold follows the doctor’s pace as he gives Helga a ten count.

“Okay,” Says Dr. Johnson, stop pushing.

Helga stops, she is panting as she tries to catch her breath. Her body gears up for another round of pushing. Both Arnold and the doctor start to count. For reasons unknown to man, the sound of Arnold’s voice begins to irritate Helga to no end. It becomes noise to her making her unable to concentrate on what the doctor is saying. 

When the next round of pushing comes on she turns to Arnold. What emits from her mouth sounds like the voice of the possessed.

“SHUUUTTT – UUUPPPP!” She says as she glares at him.

Once the urge to push passes she feels bad for what she just said and turns to Arnold and sees the hurt look on his face.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it! I love you, I don’t know what came over me.”

He forgives her just as the urge to push comes back.

“You’re doing great, Helga.” Dr. Johnson says. She reaches a finger up inside of Helga. “I can feel the top of the head, it won’t be much longer, just a few more minutes at most.”

But that was a lie. It was longer, a good twenty minutes longer to be precise.

Each time Helga pushes her back hurts more and more. 

“Ohhhh, my baaack!” she cries.

“Do you want me to rub it?” Arnold asks.

“Yeeessss!”

He starts to gently massage her but the minute his hands touch her she spits out at him.

“Stop-it! Stop-it! Don’t touch me!”

Finally, the baby begins to crown. “I can see the head!” The doctor says. “Arnold, come here and watch your baby being born.”

Arnold moves down towards Helga’s feet and glances between her legs. At first sight his stomach gives a little clench and his head spins, threatening to make him pass out. But after a couple of minutes he gets over his queasiness and stands in awe at the miracle that is happening right before his eyes. 

He sees his baby’s head as it begins to press against the opening of his wife. The blonde head pushes forward but stops as if something is holding it back. With the next push Helga’s skin stretches close to the ripping point yet still the baby doesn’t budge. 

Helga is in excruciating pain now and she calls for him. Reluctant to leave the baby but needing to be there for his wife he moves back up to her head.

The doctor tries adjusting the baby to help it work its way out.

“What’s happening doctor?” Arnold finally asks, “Why isn’t it coming out?”

“It appears that your baby is stuck in the birth canal. It’s the head, it’s a bit on the big side.”

Delirious with pain, Helga shoots Arnold a look. “YOU.” She says to him, “This is YOUR fault.”

Arnold blushes a bit then shakes it off and answers her back. “Hey, you knew what the odds were when you went in to this.”

With a loud “GRRRRRRR!” Helga gives another push.

“Stop!” the doctor orders her, “No more pushing. We are going to have to take the baby through caesarean.”

“NO! I – AM – HELGA – GERALDINE – PATAKI – SHORTMAN!” She yells, “I can do this. No caesarean!”

The doctor gives her one more chance to deliver vaginally. “We’ll keep trying for a few more minutes but no longer, it’s too dangerous for the baby.” 

Helga pushes again, the doctor reaches inside her with her fingers, trying to adjust the baby’s head. She orders Helga to stop pushing so she can manipulate the baby easier.

“AAAHHH, my body wants to push!”

“Use your breathing to fight the urge to push!” Arnold tells her.

Helga does her best to gain control over her body. The urge is strong but she fights it.

The doctor turns the baby’s head a bit to one side.

“Okay, Helga,” she says, “Push!”

Helga closes her eyes and bares down with all her strength. Arnold pushes on her back in an effort to help.

“Okay, stop!” The doctor says. She gives the baby’s head one more adjustment. “Now, push hard!”

With all her might Helga gives one last push as she yells, “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

Finally, on Friday, October 5th, at 1:52 in the morning, two weeks before her due date, Helga feels her baby leave her body. At that very moment, in a small condo in Florida, one Pookie Shortman, smiles in her sleep and mumbles, “Welcome to the world Little Prince.” 

The doctor calls for Arnold to come and cut the umbilical cord. As he takes the scissors in his hand he glances at his child, noticing a slight blue tinge to it. “It looks blue.” He thinks to himself, “The baby shouldn’t look blue!”

Once the cord is cut the baby is taken by the nurses.

Helga still sits in the birthing chair, her legs still in the calf supports.

“Where’s my baby! I want my baby!” She cries.

She turns to Arnold who is trying his best to hide his concern from her.

“It’s okay, they just need to check a few things.”

“You saw it, what is it? Is it a boy or a girl?”

Arnold has to think about this for a minute.

“Umm, actually, I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know, you were right there!”

“I was concentrating on the umbilical cord, then once it was cut they rushed off to work on the baby.”

Helga is near hysterics now. “Why isn’t it crying? My baby! Give me my baby, I want my baby!”

Without having any answers Arnold just looks at her as he remembers the blue tinge to the baby’s skin.

Time stands still for the couple as the doctor and nurses quickly work on their baby.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the tension is broken by the sound of their child. Its voice is loud and robust as it wails for the very first time.

‘WWHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”

“Oh, thank God!” Both Arnold and Helga exclaim in unison.


	25. Chapter 25

The doctor turns, holding the crying baby in her arms. She walks over to the new parents and smiles at them.

“Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Shortman, you have a son.”

“It’s a boy.” Arnold whispers, “I have a son.”

Helga reaches out for the child. The doctor hands the baby to Helga who takes him and places him against her bare skin. She cries tears of joy as she holds her son close and begins to coo to him in a soft, singsong voice.

“There we go sweet baby, your mommy’s got you now. There’s no need to cry.”

Recognizing the voice he’s been hearing for the past 8 ½ months the baby begins to calm down. He roots around looking to nuzzle and Helga places him to her breast. It takes a couple of tries but soon he latches on and peacefully suckles. 

Satisfied that all is well for the time being the doctor and nurses leave the room giving the parents some alone time with their child. Arnold shoots Gerald a quick text letting everyone know the baby has come.

Arnold sits and watches mother and son, his heart so filled with love it hurts. But it is a good hurt, a hurt that says all is right with the world. Helga looks at him and he can’t help himself, he leans in and kisses her deeply.

“I’ve never been more in love with you than right now.” He whispers. 

“I love you too, Arnold. I loved you then, I love you now and I will love you even after I die.”

They sit together, each letting the last twenty plus hours sink in. Arnold looks from his son to his wife. She gazes up and their eyes lock, huge smiles cemented on their faces.

“I can’t believe it.” Arnold says, “Less then twenty-four hours ago it was just you and me, and now you’re sitting there, breastfeeding our SON. Our son – I have a son!”

Helga’s hand gently strokes their baby’s head. “I can’t believe how much I love him already.”

Leaning in, Arnold kisses her again then stands up. “Before I forget, I have something for you.”

He walks over to a chair where he had thrown his hoodie when they arrived. Reaching in to the pocket he brings out something small and holds it hidden in his palm. He hides it behind his back as he walks up to her.

“Close your eyes and hold out your hand.”

“What is it?” She asks through a chuckle.

“Just do what I said and you’ll see.”

Giving him a questioning look she obliges and shuts her eyes. After a moment she feels something with a bit of weight to it being placed in her hand.

“Okay, open your eyes.”

She looks at her hand and sees a small painted rock. She recognizes it immediately. It’s the heart shaped rock she found at the beach. The one he picked up and wouldn’t give to her. He’s painted it in a shiny red acrylic, and then outlined it in an even glossier gold. The gilded outline made the heart shape stand out so it looked like the old locket she used to wear as a young girl. In the middle of the rock, written in a very delicate script are the words “Arnold Loves Helga.”

She loses it now and starts to cry as she looks at the painted rock.

“Oh Arnold, I love this. Thank you so much. I will treasure it.”

“It’s just an old rock, but I’m glad you like it.”

“Is this what you were working on the other day when you were being all secretive?” 

“Yeah, it is.”

Arnold reaches down now, gently placing a hand on his son’s head. He studies its shape and is glad to see that it’s not too disproportionate to the rest of his body. He thinks he’ll grow in to it in no time and hopefully won’t have to suffer the taunts that he did as a child. Although, as he got older, he too grew in to his head to where, yes, it may not be perfectly round, but it wasn’t anything like it was as a small boy.

They spend another half an hour of quiet alone time with their child before the doctor finally comes back in to talk to them. 

“So how does it feel to finally be parents?” She asks.

Arnold speaks for the both of them. “It’s the most amazing feeling. We’re still trying to wrap our heads around it.”

“Have you given him a name yet?”

Helga and Arnold look at each other and nod. They had picked out names for both a boy and a girl over a month ago and Arnold smiles as he says his son’s name out loud. 

“His name is Phillip Jaden Shortman.”

They had contemplated calling him Phillip Miles Shortman but Helga refused to have a son with the initials PMS, so Jaden it was. 

Still holding the sleeping child against her chest Helga questions the doctor on his health.

“I can’t believe how tiny he is. You never said how much he weighs.”

“Oh, right.” Dr. Johnson says as she looks at his chart. “Let’s see, he weighed in at 5lbs, 2oz., and, 19” long. He’s a little small weight wise, but his lungs sound clear and healthy. He is very slightly jaundice but that’s not uncommon. Of course we will keep a close watch over him for the next 24 hours but so long as no complications arise I see no reason why he won’t be able to go home with you when you leave the hospital.”

Having answered their questions, the doctor leaves the couple alone once again. Shortly after she leaves a nurse comes in to give them a crash course in baby care. She shows them how to properly diaper and swaddle little Phillip so as not to disturb the umbilical cord. Before she leaves she hands the baby to Arnold and finishes answering the couple’s questions, then lets them know that there is a group of anxious people in the waiting room hungry for information.

Arnold holds his sleeping son as he sits in a chair next to Helga’s bed. “I love you so much Little Phillip, and I promise that I will never leave you.”

Helga watches the precious interaction between father and son and grabs her phone. She takes their picture making sure to turn off the cameras flash. “Smile daddy.” She says.

Arnold looks at her wearing a huge, cheesy grin on his face. 

He can’t stop looking at his perfect baby, and Helga hates to disturb him, but there is a waiting room full of anxious family and friends that are dying for information.

“Um, I hate to break this up, but don’t you think you should go let everyone know what’s up?”

“I know I should, but I just don’t want to leave you two, not even for a second.”

“You don’t have to be gone long. They’ve waited all this time, you really should go show your face.”

“Alright, if I must. Are you up for visitors?”

Exhausted, Helga wants to say no but figures they should at least let family stop in for a quick hello.

“I guess I could handle family, and Geraldo too. Ugh, I feel bad turning anyone away though. Perhaps a quick hello and peek at the baby will be okay.”

Reluctantly, Arnold hands the baby over to Helga, giving them both a quick kiss on the forehead before leaving the room. Alone with her baby Helga talks softly to the sleeping child.

“Oh, my precious little baby, if you only knew how many people you have made so very happy today.”

 

…. 

It’s been a good hour since Gerald got the text from Arnold about Phillip’s arrival. Big Bob is beginning to lose his patience and is pacing the floor.

“Criminy,” he says, “How long does it take to clean up a baby?”

“Now B,” Miriam says, “They’re going to want to spend some alone time before we all parade on in there. Give them time to be a family.”

After another minute of pacing the elevator doors open and reveal to Arnold a waiting room filled with his closest friends and family. He is touched that they cared enough to sit and wait well in to the wee hours of the morning just to be a part of their big day.

As he steps out of the elevator Gerald is the first to greet him. Offering Arnold his fist they engage in their signature handshake, one that they’ve done since they were kids.

“Congratulations Bro.” 

“Thanks, Gerald.” 

Soon he is surrounded by Patty and Harold, Sid and Brainy. Even Lila and Stinky made the trip, driving in from their farm outside the city limits.

Helga’s family comes up to him now and it is Big Bob who finally asks the question that’s on everyone’s minds.

“So what is it, a boy or a girl?”

“With great pride Arnold puffs out his chest and proclaims, “It’s a boy! Phillip Jaden Shortman.”

The announcement is met with another round of handshakes and hugs. The most noticeably touched by the news is Big Bob as he stands humbled by the fact that Arnold has been able to achieve the one thing he could not, which is to have a son to carry on his name.

Bob walks up to Arnold, grabbing his hand to shake it.

“Congratulations, Son.” He says, thoroughly catching Arnold off guard. 

It’s as if Bob has suddenly gained a new respect for Arnold and from that moment on things changed between them with Bob finally accepting Arnold as part of the family. 

With Bob still holding a firm grasp on his hand, Arnold continues to awkwardly shake it until Olga finally pipes in.

“When can I see my precious nephew?” 

“Helga’s pretty exhausted but she’s agreed to letting whomever wants to see the baby stop by, but only if it’s a quick hello and good-bye. I hope you understand.”

“Of course we do!” Olga says as she runs to push the elevator button.

They gather outside Helga’s room quietly talking in hushed voices so as not to get chased away by the nurses. The friends say their hellos in groups of two, each person marveling at the small miracle that lays asleep in Helga’s arms. 

Finally there is just the family and Gerald left. They surround Helga’s bed, talking softly. Helga looks to Bob and, letting bygones be bygones, asks if he wants to hold his grandson.

“Oh, I-I don’t know if I can, he’s so small.” Bob stammers.

“Nonsense.” Arnold says as he places the baby in Bob’s arms.

Little Phillip gets lost in Bob’s huge arms as he awkwardly tries to rock him.

“Well what do you know,” Bob says, a tear hanging in his eye, “He’s a Pataki alright, just look at his eyebrows.”

“My turn!” Miriam speaks up as she reaches for the baby. “Oh, well aren’t you just the cutest thing!” She says before placing a kiss on his little forehead.

Next in line is Olga who gushes over her nephew, calling him the most beautiful baby she’s ever seen. Even good old Samuel takes a turn at holding him.

The family doesn’t stay long and soon say their good-byes stating that they will come back later in the day. The only one left now is Gerald who sits in the chair next to the bed. Arnold walks over to him and hands him little Phillip. He is stiff as he holds the child, afraid to do anything that might hurt him. 

“Relax Geraldo,” Helga teases, “he’s not going to break.”

“He’s just so small! Hey, take my picture with him so I can send it to Phoebe.”

Arnold takes a few good shots with “Uncle Gerald’s” phone then has Helga take one of the two of them with the baby.

Gerald notices Helga having trouble keeping her eyes open and decides that that is his que to be going. He hands Phillip to his father and says his good-byes. Helga is asleep before the door closes.

Placing the baby in the crib that is provided by the hospital, Arnold turns out the lights and lays down in a second bed that is provided for him. 

He sleeps soundly for about an hour before being woken up by the loud cries of a hungry baby, a sound that he is to become very familiar with over the next few months.


	26. Chapter 26

Helga is woken up to the sounds of a crying baby. In her exhaustion she lays with her eyes closed wondering why the parents aren’t doing anything to keep their child quiet. No sooner does the thought run through her mind when she remembers that they are the parents and it’s their child that is crying. She rolls towards Phillip and is getting ready to get up and take him out of the crib when she sees Arnold standing over her. He is holding their child, slowly rocking him back and forth in an effort to pacify him.

“Okay, okay big man.” Arnold softly says, “Hold your horses. Give mommy a chance to wake up.”

Little Phil is relentless in his screaming. He is hungry and he wants to be fed NOW! 

Helga takes their son from Arnold and laughs. “Wow, that’s quite a temper you got there, I wonder who you got that from.”

Arnold gives her a look and says, “Yeah, I wonder.”

Helga lays on her side, baby cuddled up close and she offers him her breast. Again it takes a few tries for him to latch on properly but eventually he does and he is happy for the time being. Arnold walks to the other side of Helga and lays next to her, watching his son over her shoulder. With his head snuggled close to Helga’s, he reaches over her and places a hand on Phillip as he nurses.

“It’s almost 4 a.m.” He says softly in her ear, “About 24 hours ago it was just the two of us. When we go home we’ll be a family of three.”

“I know,” She says as she watches her baby. “One minute it’s you and me, and the next, bam, we’re parents. Are you sure we got this?”

“Well, we’d better because he’s here now! Besides, I have every bit of faith that you’re going to be a great mother.”

“I don’t know, sometimes I wonder. I mean, look at my upbringing. I didn’t have the best role models. At least you had your grandparents, and they were awesome when it came to raising you.”

“Don’t over think it Helga, your instincts won’t let you be a bad mom, you don’t have it in you.”

They lay in silence as they watch their now sleeping baby as he lays content next to Helga. Just as they begin to doze a sound erupts from Phil’s diaper area. It startles the sleepy couple and they begin to giggle as a certain smell reaches their noses.

“Hmm, it looks like Phil’s ready for his first diaper change.” Helga says. “Can you get a fresh diaper and the wipes?”

Reluctant to leave the comfort of the bed Arnold rolls over and walks to the counter where the diapers are. Walking back he places a changing pad down on the bed and Helga lays Phil on top of it. 

Opening the diaper they are happy to find that Phil’s bark is worse than his bite as there isn’t much that needs cleaning up. Arnold decides he wants to do the first diaper change so he leans down, hovering over Phil. 

Taking a wipe he very gently begins to clean his baby. He slips a clean diaper under him then smiles. He starts to say something to the child when all of a sudden he is hit in the face by something warm and wet. 

“What the……!” He yells as he takes a step back. “OMG, he pee’d in my face!”

Helga can’t help but to laugh hysterically as the urine shoots out from her child like fountain. 

Arnold looks at her with a shocked expression on his face. “It’s not funny, he pee’d in my face!”

Helga lays on her side, one arm holding her baby while her other arm clutches her stomach as she continues to laugh. She fights hard to catch her breath and talk at the same time.

“Oh – My- God! The look – the look on your face!” More laughs, “I’m sorry – I know it’s not funny, but - I can’t help it!”

By now Arnold has removed his shirt and practically given himself a bath in the small sink that sits just outside the bathroom. 

The commotion has upset Little Phillip and he begins to bawl uncontrollably. Helga finishes the diaper job Arnold started and picks her baby up, holding him close to her chest. 

“Shhh-shhh, sweetheart, Its okay. Your daddy isn’t mad at you, he’s just not used to having his face pee’d on is all. But you sure are a good aim now, aren’t you. Yes you are.”

Slowly Little Phil begins to calm down, eventually falling fast asleep once again. 

Arnold rummages through his backpack and pulls out a clean shirt. Putting it on, he takes Phillip from Helga and places him back in the crib. Joining Helga in her bed he lays half on, half off of her and looks down at her as he holds her hands down by either side of her head.

“So you think that was funny, huh?” He says, their faces only a couple of inches apart.

She starts to giggle as she shakes her head yes. “Yeah, I do, but at least now you’ve learned a very important lesson. Always be on guard when changing a baby boy’s diaper.”

He doesn’t reply, instead he just looks at her. She stares up into his eyes and they just stay like that for a frozen moment. He kisses her, soft and sweet until he feels her tongue search for his. The kiss deepens and lingers. When they finally stop he lays next to her and buries his face into the crook of her neck, holding her close. They fall asleep and that is how the morning nurse finds them when she comes into the room to do her rounds. 

…… 

It’s an early 7 am when the hospital slowly starts to come awake. There is quiet conversation as the night nurses give their replacements the low down on all that’s happened during their shift. Here and there a baby cries while a doctor is being paged over the intercom. A large cart with trays of hot food is pushed down the hall by a couple of members of the kitchen staff, its left wheel quietly squeaks adding to the muted din. 

There is a knock on Helga’s door as a new nurse walks in to introduce herself to the new parents. Helga sits propped up in the bed as Arnold sits in the chair holding their freshly diapered and fed baby. 

“Good morning, I’m Sarah, I’ll be your nurse this afternoon so if there’s anything you need you can just call for me.” She turns her full attention to Helga now. “How are you feeling this morning?” 

“Other than feeling tired and sore I’m fine. A bit smelly, maybe. Will I be able to shower today?”

“Of course! Breakfast is being served right now but you can feel free to shower when you’re done eating if you’re up to it. Just let me know when you’re ready and I’ll bring in some fresh towels for you.”

The nurse gives Phillip a quick once over before leaving. She is no sooner out the door when another nurse brings in breakfast for two.

“That’s nice that we get to eat breakfast together.” Helga says as she digs in. “Mmm, this is really good.”

Arnold is not so sure as he stabs his fork into the institutionalized scrambled eggs. “Geeze, Helga, you must have an iron clad stomach to be wolfing this stuff down like that. Besides, they’re not doing us any favors, I’m sure both meals will be reflected on the itemized bill.” 

“Whatever, at least we’re eating together. You going to finish that?” 

Arnold knocks her fork away from his eggs as she tries to stab at them. “Yes! Besides, finish what you’ve got first before you try to steal mine.”

She sticks her tongue out at him before gulping down some orange juice. “I can’t help it, I’m starving! I haven’t eaten since yesterday aaaand, it takes a lot out of a woman to push a baby out of her who-ha.”

“Who-ha? Heh, and you make fun of me for using words like boink.”

“Whatever. Are you finished eating now?” She asks as she eyes his plate.

With a nod of his head he grabs the orange slices off his plate and gives her the rest of his eggs and toast. “Help yourself.” He says as he bites down on the orange slice showing her his fruity smile.

“You’re such a weirdo.”

 

…… 

 

Soon after they eat Dr. Johnson comes in to check up on mother and son.

“Good morning, how’s the happy family? How did your first night go?”

“Other than Arnold getting peed in the face the night went really well.”

Arnold blushes as he nudges Helga. “I’m sure she didn’t need to hear that.”

“Oh, on the contrary.” The doctor says through a chuckle, “That lets me know that everything is working the way it should be. And don’t feel embarrassed, it happens to everyone.”

Turning her attention to Helga she now enquires about her. “And how are you feeling?”

“Tired and really sore down there.” She says as she points to her nether regions.

“Oh, no doubt that you are, you took quite a beating pushing this little guy out this morning. More so than normal. It’s going to take a while for you to recover I think. In the meantime lots of sitzs baths and witch hazel will help with the swelling and pain.”

A little while later Phil is taken to the nursery to be checked over and Helga takes the opportunity to finally shower. It not only feels good to be clean, it relaxes her too so by the time Phillip is brought back to the room she is happily snoozing while Arnold finishes up a quick shower of his own.

Hearing the sounds of her fussing baby she wakes up, asking the nurse to lay Phillip next to her. She nurses him as she fades in and out of sleep. 

A little over an hour later they receive their first delivery of flowers. It’s a modest bouquet of blue and yellow daisies in a ceramic vase that is in the shape of a baby bootie. Arnold reads the card out loud.

“Congratulations on your beautiful baby boy. I wish I could be there to celebrate with you. I love you both, Phoebe.”

Throughout the day they receive deliveries of flowers and plants and even a large balloon bouquet from Arnold’s work. 

“How are we ever going to get all this stuff home?” Helga wonders.

“We’ll just have to have someone meet us here tomorrow before we leave to help us I guess.”

The day is also filled with visits from friends and family, all bringing their well wishes. A lactation specialist comes in to answer any questions Helga may have. Nurses come and go checking on Helga and Phillip. Time passes quickly and by late afternoon the doctor comes in for a last visit for the night.

“Little Phillip is coming along just fine. Like I said when he was born, he’s a little small but otherwise very healthy so I don’t see any reason why the both of you can’t go home tomorrow. I will be back in the morning to discharge you.”

They are relieved and happy that all of them will be able to go home together and be that family of three they’ve wanted for so long. Saying good-bye to the doctor Arnold walks to the crib and picks his son up. Sitting in the chair by Helga’s bed he can’t take his eyes off his him as he gently rocks him in his arms.

“Why do I get the feeling that he’s going to end up being one spoiled little boy?” Helga jokes.

“That won’t happen, you can’t spoil a child this young, all you can do is make him feel loved and secure.” His voice takes on a cooing manner as he talks to Phillip. “Isn’t that right my big man?”

“It’s nice to see you forgive him for christening your face this morning.”

“Ha, yeah, I take that as a very important lesson learned. I will definitely be on my guard from now on.”

It’s been just over two hours since Phillip last ate and like clockwork his internal clock goes off, his cries signaling dinner time.

“Are you hungry again?” Helga says as she takes her son from Arnold.

She sits propped up, holding him as he suckles. Arnold squeezes in next to her with his arm around her shoulders. Helga hums a quiet lullaby as Arnold listens.

“That’s pretty. Where’d you hear that?”

“Believe it or not, it’s a lullaby Miriam used to sing to me on very rare occasions when I was little and would have a hard time falling asleep. This, of course, was before her drinking got really bad.”

Helga subconsciously gives a small sigh as she leans her head against Arnold’s. He tightens his hold on her hoping his stirring up of old memories isn’t making her sad. 

“You know,” He says, “You’re going to make a wonderful mom, to all six of our kids.”

Her eyes get big and she turns her face to look at him. “SIX?”

“Yes, remember, you promised. Six.”

“When did I promise you six kids?”

“At the beach, remember, you agreed to six kids.”

“You can’t hold me to that, it isn’t fair.”

“How’s it not fair?”

“I was under a spell.”

“What spell? Who put you under a spell?”

“Arnoldo the Great. Remember?”

“Oh, yeah. So then, are you saying the spell’s worn off?”

“Seems like it.”

“Well then, he’ll just have to come back with his magic wand and try again.”

“Maybe that can be arranged, tell him to come see me……..In six weeks that is.”

Arnold leans his back against the propped up bed and mumbles through a pout.

“Yeah, six weeks.”


	27. Chapter 27

Dr. Johnson comes in to Helga’s room early the next morning ready to discharge her and Phillip. She walks in the room to find Helga sitting on the bed dressed and ready as Arnold sits in, what he has come to refer to as, “his chair”. Little Phillip sleeps quietly in his father’s arms.

“By the looks of things I’d say you three are anxious to go home.” The doctor says as she hands Helga some papers.

Helga takes the papers and notices that they are discharge instructions for both her and Phillip. It has all the information needed for her postpartum care and instructions for things like umbilical cord care, circumcision care and other topics. She also hands her some papers to sign and once Phillip’s car seat is inspected they are free to go. An orderly has brought them a cart to put what’s left of the gifts from their friends and family on and a nurse waits with a wheelchair which will be used to whisk mother and son off to freedom. 

Once outside they see Gerald waiting to help them load the rest of the gifts and balloons into his car so all they have to worry about is the baby. He had already made one trip, filling the backseat with plants and flowers.

A light breeze begins to blow and Helga lifts her face in to it, enjoying the fresh air as it hits her. She’s not one for staying cooped up inside so now that her bed rest and hospital stay are behind her she’s looking forward to being able to get outside once again. They had received a jogging stroller at one of her showers and she plans on using it as soon as the doctor gives her the okay to get out and run. 

By now Gerald has finished loading up the car. He takes a step back and looks at all the gifts.

“Mmm-mm-mmm!” He says, giving his head a shake. “I’ve never seen so much stuff. You’d think Little Phil was royalty or something.”

“Well, he is Grandma’s Little Prince.” Arnold reminds Gerald.

Gerald walks over to Helga, helping her out of the wheelchair as Arnold struggles to fit the baby carrier into the car seat base.

“They sure don’t make these things very user friendly.” He grumbles.

Once Arnold has Phillip securely locked in to the base they take off for the boarding house. He’s nervous having a little one in the back seat and drives with extra caution.

“This isn’t a funeral procession, Arnoldo, you can pick up the pace a bit you know.” Helga complains.

“I can’t help it if I’m extra cautious, that’s our little guy back there.”

“Yeah, but at this rate he’ll be ten by the time we get home.”

“That may be, but at least he’ll get there safely.”

Giving up trying to get Arnold to drive any faster Helga just sits back, looking out the window. She notices how much their little town has changed over the years and wonders what things will be like by the time Little Phil is ready to walk the halls of PS 118. She wonders if their old teacher Mr. Simmons will still be teaching there. She thinks about what a kick it would be if Phillip had him too. She may not have showed it outwardly back then, but she always did like Mr. Simmons. He was always very kind and understanding to them. You could tell how much he loved his job by all the effort he put in to making his lessons interesting. 

She’s brought out of her reverie by the sound of a very angry baby. Arnold immediately goes in to panic mode wondering what could be wrong to make Little Phillip scream so loudly.

“What’s wrong, why’s he crying like that? Is he hurt?” Arnold questions as he slows the car down even more.

“How should I know, he’s facing away from us. I should have sat in the back with him.”

“I never understood why they make you put your baby as far away from you as you can, on top of facing away from you. It doesn’t make sense. How are you supposed to know what’s going on?”

“Calm down, Arnoldo, I’m sure he’s fine, just hungry or mad that he’s strapped in. Besides, they have you do it that way for safety reasons, you know that.”

“Well, I don’t like it. Should I stop and let you get in the back?”

“No, we’re a block away from home, criminy, just drive……and pick up the pace, will you!” 

Phillip continues to wail as they approach the boarding house where Gerald is already outside waiting for them. Once parked in the driveway Gerald walks over to them to help Helga out of the car.

“Man, what took you guys so long? And why is Phillip screaming like that?”

“What took us so long is the fact that Arnold drives like an 80-year-old man, and we have no clue as to why Phillip is screaming. He probably couldn’t take his dad’s driving anymore.”

“Very funny.” Arnold says as he lifts Phillip’s carrier out of the car. He ignores the smirk on his wife’s face as he and Phillip head to the house. Helga and Gerald grab what they can carry out of the car and follow Arnold, quietly snickering behind his back.

Once inside Arnold quickly takes Phillip out of his carrier and tries to soothe him. He holds him against his chest as he walks the floor. Phillip will have none of this and begins to scream even louder. 

Putting down her armload of items she rummages through a tote bag and pulls out an inflatable donut shaped cushion, something that will come in very handy over the next couple of weeks as she heals from the difficult delivery she went through.

“Here, let me have him.” She says, reaching for the baby. “Let me try to nurse him and see if that calms him.”

With screaming baby in one hand and inflatable cushion in the other, she disappears upstairs to the nursery.

After Gerald finishes helping Arnold unload the two cars he says his good-byes.

“It’s going to be pretty tame around the old high school while you’re on paternity leave.”

“Well, it’s not actually paternity leave, it’s more family leave time, and it’s unpaid so I’ll only be able to afford to take a two week leave.”

“Really? I thought paternity leave was a given.”

“Unfortunately not in Washington.” 

“That’s too bad, man.”

“Yeah, but at least I get two weeks. Hey, thanks for your help today.”

“Anytime, Bro, that’s what best friends are for. Well good luck with your first night alone, hope the baby doesn’t keep you up allllll night.”

“Heh, thanks.”

Arnold waves good-bye as Gerald drives off, then turns and heads back in to the house. It’s surprisingly quiet and he makes his way upstairs. Cracking the door of the nursery open he peeks inside and sees Helga sitting in the bentwood rocker with Phillip fast asleep in her arms. The rays of the mid afternoon sun shine through the nursery window illuminating Helga from behind as she slowly rocks Phillip. She hums the same soft lullaby from the hospital, a serene smile on her face. He stands watching her until she lifts her gaze to him. Her smile widens as he walks towards her. Standing, she places Phillip into his crib and turns on the baby monitor. Arnold stands next to her and they quietly watch their sleeping baby for a minute. 

“You sure do make beautiful babies Mrs. Shortman.” 

“Well, I did have a tiny bit of help.”

“Are you ready for tonight? It’s just you, me and Phillip. No nurses to check up on us, or answer questions.”

Helga thinks about Arnold’s question. Both her mom and Olga had asked them if they wanted help during their first few days home. Arnold was inclined to say yes but Helga was adamant that they didn’t need any help. Her stubborn, Pataki side came out and she kept politely refusing their offers of help.

Now, with just the two of them alone in their big, quiet house, she was starting to have second thoughts. Not wanting Arnold to see her apprehension she assures him that they’ve got this.

“Piece of cake, Arnoldo. I mean, how hard can this whole parenting thing be? Right?”

“I don’t know but we’re about to find out.”

Arnold grabs the receiver to the baby monitor as Helga picks up her cushion and they quietly leave their baby to his peaceful slumber.

…….

As Arnold starts trying to find places to put all the plants and flowers they’d received while in the hospital, Helga slowly walks to the family room. Her pregnant waddle is now more of a bowl-legged saunter due to the rough time she had pushing Little Phil out and she can’t help but wonder if she’ll ever get back to normal “down there”. 

Placing her cushion on the couch she adjusts herself down on it and starts to rummage through the cards that had come with the plants. She picks up a small card with the picture of a teddy bear on the front and suddenly feels a rush of sadness start to engulf her, followed by a feeling of happiness. She starts to cry and she doesn’t have any reason as to why. Arnold walks into the room with a large bouquet of mixed flowers and sees his sobbing wife. Placing the flowers on the coffee table he sits down next to her.

“Helga, what’s wrong?”

“I-don’t-knowww.”

“Why are you crying?”

“I-I don’t knowww!”

“Are you hurting? Do you feel sick?”

“Nooooooooo.”

“I don’t understand, there has to be something bothering you to make you cry like this.”

Her tears start falling faster as her sobs get louder. “Why? Why does there have to be something wrong? Can’t I just cry if I want toooooooooo?”

“Babe, I think you’ve got some hormone issues going on right now.”

His correct assumption of Helga’s hormonal state seems to infuriate her. “Yeah? So? You got a problem with it?” She snips at him.

The tone of her voice makes Arnold flinch. “No, no, not at all, I’m just saying that it’s probably that post-partum depression everyone talks about. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Helga’s anger turns to remorse as she starts crying for a whole other reason.

“I’m suh-suh-sorry, I didn’t m-mean to y-yell at youuuuuu.”

“Damn.” Arnold thinks to himself, “I hope this part of her recovery doesn’t last long.” 

To Helga he says, “It’s okay babe, I’m not upset.”

Feeling better Helga’s crying stops. 

“Wow, I’m so sorry Arnold, I don’t know what came over me.”

“Don’t worry about it, I know you can’t help it.”

Just as Helga has calmed down some a noise starts to come over the handset of the baby monitor. Little Phillip has woken up. The crib feels unfamiliar to him, and the crib sheet doesn’t smell like mommy so he does the only thing a little guy like him can do, and starts to cry.

“Whaaaaaaaaaaa!” They hear bellowing from the handset.

Arnold’s eyes shoot to the origin of the noise then immediately back to Helga. That split second it took him to look from the handset and back was just enough time for Helga to begin her sobbing again.

“Muh-my poor baby.” Helga says through her tears as she gets up to go check on him.

“Oh geeze.” Arnold thinks to himself. “Now they’re both crying.”

Arnold follows a few steps behind Helga figuring it best to keep a bit of distance between them.

Entering the nursery Helga picks Phillip up giving him a once over, looking for any obvious signs of trouble. Not seeing anything wrong she paces the floor with him.

“There, there Phillip.” She says in a soft voice, “its okay, mommy’s got you now.”

Recognizing his mommy Phillip gives out a few more good squawks before slowly settling down. He coos against her shoulder as she sits down to rock him. 

“I guess he just missed his mommy.” Arnold says, wary of how she is going to react to his words.

She has calmed down some herself and to Arnold’s relief she answers him with a smile.

“Yeah, I guess so. Who can blame him though, being left all alone in a strange bed, I’m sure it’s going to take him time to adjust.” 

That night Arnold worries if he can handle two crying people in the house, and wonders if they should have asked for help afterall.


	28. Chapter 28

Their first night passed by rather uneventfully. They had moved Phillip from the nursery to the bassinet that stood at Helga’s side of the bed. This way he would be within easy reach at feeding time. 

By 10:00 that night the new parents were exhausted and in desperate need for sleep. Carefully placing their son in the bassinet, they quietly slipped in to bed. Helga lay on her side keeping a close eye on the sleeping child. Arnold spooned up next to her, His free arm around her. His hand rubbing circles on the little leftover pouch of a tummy that used to house their son. Rolling on to her back, she places her hands over his.

“Ugh.” She says in a whisper, “I hate my stomach. It’s so jiggly and loose. I’m never going to fit back in my jeans.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Arnold says, patting her stomach. “I think your little poochie tummy is cute.” 

“Cute?? You’re crazy Arnoldo. How can you think it’s cute?”

“Because.” He gives her a kiss on her cheek. “It reminds me of you being pregnant, and it was where our son spent his first nine months of life.”

She rolls over to face him, wrapping her arms around him and cuddles up close.

“Mmmm, I’m just happy I can snuggle up close to you again without my big old stomach getting in the way. I’ve missed you being able to wrap your arms around me.”

He holds her tighter and kisses the top of her head. “Yeah, I’ve missed this too.”

It doesn’t take long for their exhaustion to fully take over and they fall in to a deep sleep. Two and a half hours later, and right on schedule, Little Phil starts to stir. They don’t hear him at first and Phillip decides he needs to up the volume so he lets out a loud squawk. Jumping at the sound Helga reluctantly pushes out of Arnold’s arms and rolls over to get her baby. Laying Phillip between her and Arnold she softly hums to him as he eats.

Somewhere in the back recesses of Arnold’s sleeping mind he hears the quiet song. Vague memories of being a small child fill his dreams. Arms that he hasn’t felt around him since he was one year old reach out to hold him. He’s swept away in a gentle rocking motion as two blurred faces peer down at him, smiling. He suddenly begins to feel agitated as the two images begin to back off and fade away. He hears a baby crying and realizes that it is him. He reaches for the images but he is too late and they disappear. The crying continues and he opens his eyes, his dream already forgotten, and realizes that the sound is coming from Phillip’s bassinet. It’s been over three hours since his last feeding and he’s hungry for more. Arnold gently nudges Helga and she rolls on to her back.

“Okay, okay, I’m up, I’m up.” She grunts.

Grabbing Phillip out of the bassinet she notices a distinct odor that tells her hunger wasn’t the only thing that woke him up. Grabbing a diaper and some wipes she cleans her son up then brings him back to the bed. Barely able to keep her eyes open she once again tends to her child’s insatiable appetite. 

Gently stroking his baby’s head as he eats Arnold lifts his eyes to Helga’s.

“I know you don’t want Phillip taking a bottle, but it would sure make things easier on you if someone else can take over feeding him every once in a while.”

“No, Arnold, we’ve discussed this. No bottles. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of my baby’s needs.”

“I know you are, no one’s saying you aren’t. It would just give you a break is all. Besides, I wouldn’t mind taking turns feeding him now and then myself you know.”

Helga starts to smile as a thought comes across her. 

“Are you jealous Mr. Shortman?” She asks playfully.

“Jealous? Of what?” He says with what almost looks like a pout.

“Of me being the only one to feed Phillip.”

“Well, now that you mention it, I kind of would like the experience of feeding my son too. It’s a special time and once he’s out of that stage we’ll never get it back.”

“You’re right, and I guess it would be nice to share these middle of the night feedings. I’ll think about it.”

xxxx

The next few days pass as the little family slowly adjust to each other. Helga still has her bouts of the baby blues which is frustrating for Arnold, especially when they coincide with Phillip’s crying. The lack of sleep from Phillip’s round the clock feeding schedule wears on both their nerves and it’s not long before both parents are sporting dark bags under their eyes and looks of exhaustion on their faces. Phillip’s crying seems to pick up in the late afternoon, with his fussing sometimes lasting well in to evening. 

Wednesday comes, the morning of Phillip’s new baby check-up. He’s all of five days old now and this will be their first venture out of the house. Arnold carefully straps Phillip into his carrier as Helga loads the diaper bag. 

“Let’s see,” Helga says as she goes down her mental check list. “We have wipes, diapers, pacifiers, a couple of swaddling blankets, two changes of clothes, toys. Can you think of anything else we might need?”

“Nope, I think that’s it. You want to check these straps and make sure they’re not too tight?”

Helga gives the straps that hold Phillip into the carrier a tug. “They feel okay to me. I guess we’re ready then.”

Leaving the house, Arnold snaps the carrier into the car seat base. Helga sits in the back next to Phillip this time and off they go. As before, Arnold drives slow and with caution.

“Geeze, Arnold, is this how it’s going to be now every time we get in the car? You’re not even doing the speed limit.”

“Don’t start Helga, I’m not speeding with Phillip in the car.”

“Going the posted limit is not speeding, Arnoldo.”

“Just tend to Phillip and let me drive, woman.” 

“WOMAN? What are you, some kind of Neanderthal?” 

He knew his “woman” remark would yank her chain and he chuckles. 

“Relax, I was just teasing you. How’s our baby doing?”

Helga gently rubs Phillip’s cheek with her finger and smiles. “He’s doing fine, a perfect angel.” 

“Ahhh, just like his daddy.” Arnold catches Helga’s eye through the rear view mirror and gives her a wink.

“Riiiiight.” She says with a roll of her eyes.

Phillip waits until they are in the doctor’s waiting room to start his fussing. He’s hungry and is demanding to be fed. This will be Helga’s first time breastfeeding in public and she feels a little awkward. She leans towards Arnold to whisper in his ear.

“Phillip wants to eat, what should I do?”

Arnold gives her a confused look. “What do you mean? If he’s hungry, feed him.”

“Here? In front of everyone?”

“Uhh, well, yeah. What’s wrong?”

“I feel kind of weird just pulling out my boob in public.”

“Geeze, Helga, then throw a blanket over your shoulder or something. I can’t believe you’re so flustered over this, I’m surprised at you.”

“Hey, I’m modest, what can I say. I bet you’d be flustered too if everyone expected you to just pull your dic…..”

“Helga!” Arnold yells, turning beet red. 

“See, it’s embarrassing.”

Arnold helps Helga drape one of the swaddling blankets they brought over her shoulder as she adjusts Phillip under it. Feeling him latch on she relaxes a bit.

“See.” Arnold says to her as he throws an arm around her shoulder. “Problem solved. I’m sure that in a month or so you’ll be whipping your boobs out in public without a second thought.”

“Yeah, well, maybe.”

By the time Phillip has had his full and fallen back to sleep their name is called and they move to an exam room where they sit and wait some more. 

When Dr. Johnson comes in she takes Phillip from Helga and undresses him. Laying him on the table she gives him a complete, head to toe, check-up. 

“He looks really good.” She tells the anxious parents. “He’s gained a few ounces and his jaundice is gone. His lungs sound clear and his circumcision is healing up nicely. The only thing that’s off, really, is his head size. It’s still a bit on the bigger side but I just think that’s going to be the norm as far as he’s concerned. I don’t foresee any neurological problems or anything in his future.”

Helga thinks this is Dr. Johnson’s way of nicely saying that their son is destined to be a Football Head, just like his father, albeit not quite as noticeable of one.

With Phillip’s first check-up done they say their good-byes to Dr. Johnson and make an appointment for his one month check, both relieved to hear they have a perfectly normal, healthy baby.

xxxx

A week and a half go by, Little Phil has reached the two week mark. His afternoon crying has become more pronounced. It’s not an everyday thing, thank God, but it’s enough to wear on one’s nerves, especially when you’re fighting post-partum depression. Add to that around the clock, on demand feedings and you have the makings for two very tired, extremely stressed, adults. 

Helga has given in on the no bottle rule and pumps her milk between feedings giving Arnold the ability to help out some with the 2 AM shift. He’s run out of family leave time and will be returning to work in a couple of days. 

They sit in a semi daze on the family room couch. Gerald has come over to spend the day watching football with Arnold. He looks at his friends with sympathy. After a few minutes they hear Phillip as his waking squeaks start to come over the monitor. Arnold and Helga look from the monitor to each other.

“I’ll get him.” Arnold says as he starts to get up.

“No, that’s ok. Stay and visit with Gerald. I’ll get it.”

The two guys watch her as she disappears into the hallway. Arnold gives a loud sigh, he looks at Gerald with tired eyes.

“I don’t know how much longer I can take it.” Hey says.

“Take what?” Gerald asks.

“The crying.”

“Phillip’s? Come on, Arnold, babies cry, that’s what they do. You know that.”

“No, not Phillip’s.”

“Huh? Then who’s?”

“Helga’s. It’s her ‘post-partum, baby blues, don’t know why I’m crying’ thing. I tell ya Gerald, I was ready for Phillip’s crying, but to have two of them going at it. It’s brutal.”

“Has she talked to the doctor?”

“Yeah, she said it’s normal, and should only last another week or so. I just hope I can survive it.”

Gerald gives a little laugh as he raises his beer in a toast. “To fatherhood.”

Arnold picks up his beer. “To fatherhood.”

The two turn their attention back to the TV and after a minute they hear Helga’s voice as it comes over the monitor she left on the coffee table.

“Oh my big man.” She coos, “What are you fussing for, huh? Do you want your mommy?”

Arnold lowers the volume on the TV so they can hear her better.

“Come here my little angel, there’s no need to cry.”

It’s silent for a moment and then Helga’s voice picks up once again. It’s soft and sweet as she begins to sing the old lullaby from her childhood. Gerald sits, stunned that something so gentle can come from the girl who spent her whole childhood as the neighborhood bully. He closes his eyes as he listens.

La la lu, La la lu  
Oh, my little star sweeper  
I’ll sweep the stardust for you…  
La la lu, La la lu  
Little soft fluffy sleeper  
Here comes a pink cloud for you…  
La la lu, La la lu  
Little wandering angel  
Fold up your wings close your eyes  
La la lu, La la lu  
And may love be your keeper  
La la lu, La la lu, La la lu…

The room falls silent again before Gerald speaks up.

“I want that.” He says, a touch of longing in his voice.

“What do you want?” Gerald’s statement takes Arnold by surprise.

“A family. I want a wife who sings lullabies to my kids. I want the life you and Helga have.”

“You’ll have it, it’s just going to take a little longer. Once Phoebe………”

“Once Phoebe what? Finishes school? No, because then she has her residency, and after that? She’ll be a doctor working all kinds of hours, on call 24/7.”

“But her schooling, and residency, you guys had it all figured out. You knew how long things were going to take.”

“Yeah, I knew how long it would take, but I didn’t KNOW how long it was going to be.”

“I don’t follow you.”

“When we discussed our future it all seemed so cut and dry. Med school, then her residency, then getting set up in a practice. But now here we are, facing the reality of it. The years are ticking by, no wife, no kids, with still more years to go before Phoebe will even consider marriage.” 

“Where are you headed with this, Gerald?”

“Where I’m headed is, I don’t know if this is what I want anymore. I’m ready now, Arnold. I’m ready to start the next phase of my life.”

“So what do you think is going to happen, you break up with Phoebe and then, BAM, you get an instant wife and kids somewhere?”

“No, of course not, but..”

“But what? So say you do break up with Phoebe. Then what, you get back on the dating scene, find a girl, date for a while, eventually get married. After a few years you start having kids. Think about it. By the time you do all that the same amount of time has gone by as would if you’d have just stayed with Phoebe and supported her through her schooling like you promised you would.”

“You don’t get it, Arnold, and you never will. You’ve been lucky enough to have everything you want just thrown into your lap.”

“Like?”

“Like a beautiful wife that adores you and will do anything for you.”

“Helga? You think my past with Helga was easy? Do you forget how when we were kids the only way Helga could show any affection towards me was by torturing me? Then, when we were teenagers and finally did get together how tumultuous that was? How many times did we break up before the relationship finally took hold and we were truly happy? Nope, that reason doesn’t fly, try again. What else don’t I understand?”

“Oh, just forget it. I’m just feeling sorry for myself and a little jealous maybe. Forget I brought it up and for God’s sake, whatever you do, don’t mention anything to Helga, she’d just go running straight to Phoebe.”

“Which is maybe something you should do, don’t you think? Have you even discussed any of this with her?”

“We’ve talked about it on occasion, but not recently. That’s why I think I’m going to fly out to California at Thanksgiving. I can’t wait until Christmas to see her.”

“Just think carefully before you speak and pleeease, don’t do anything stupid. You guys are our best friends, I’d hate to see anything happen between the two of you.”

“Yeah, I know, Bro, I won’t try to push her in to anything.”

They hear footsteps as Helga comes down the stairs. She enters the family room with Phillip in hand.

“Look who missed his Uncle Gerald.” She says as she hands Phillip to him.

He’s used to holding Phillip now and takes him with ease, smiling and cooing to him. Arnold watches the interaction between the two and thinks about what a good father Gerald will make some day. He just hopes they’re still friends when it happens.


	29. Chapter 29

With Monday finally here Arnold gets ready for his first day back to work since Phillip’s birth. Helga made sure to take all the nighttime feedings so Arnold could have a night of uninterrupted sleep. Going to bed early, and with Helga on Phillip duty, he was able to get his first full night’s sleep in two weeks. Standing in the shower now he actually feels pretty good as the warm water rushes over him. 

Once cleaned up and dressed he makes his way to the kitchen. He puts on a full pot of coffee knowing that Helga is going to need the caffeine once Phillip wakes her up. At first Helga wouldn’t touch coffee while breastfeeding but after reading practically every article on the subject she decided a cup or two throughout the day wouldn’t hurt anything and if the La Leche League says it’s okay then who was she to say otherwise.

He leaves her a quick note then heads out the door. Arriving at the high school he is greeted by the usual array of fan girls as he makes his way to the teacher’s lounge. 

“Good morning Mr. Shortman. We’ve missed you Mr. Shortman. It’s so nice to see you back, Mr. Shortman.” Come the greetings, all amidst a chorus of giggles and whispers. 

Slightly embarrassed at the blatant flirting he is relieved when he finally reaches the sanctuary of the little room intended for teachers only. Once inside he spies his best friend. He’s talking to a new teacher that he has yet to meet. He notices the look on Gerald’s face as he talks to her and isn’t sure he likes it. He seems to be paying just a little bit too much attention to what she has to say. Gerald turns and notices that Arnold has entered the room. Giving him a nod of his head he waves him over to them.

As Arnold walks over he takes the new teacher in. She’s on the young side like him and Gerald. He guesses she’s no more than 26 or 27. She has long auburn hair that flows a few inches past her shoulders. Her make-up is a little on the heavy side for his taste and her smile a little too friendly as she talks to his friend. She sports a tan that seems just a little too out of place for it being near the end of October, which makes him think it’s fake. She’s dressed modestly enough although her skirt could be a little less tight. The vibe he gets from her is woman on the prowl and he’s hoping she’s not set her sights on Gerald. When he reaches them she turns her attention to him. Her hazel eyes lock on to his. Her intent stare makes him a bit uncomfortable and he doesn’t know why. Clearing his throat he breaks eye contact and turns his attention to Gerald who gives him a pat on his back.

“Well, well, look whose back.” 

“Hey, Gerald. Yeah, I’m finally back. It was a quick two weeks.”

The new teacher clears her throat for attention. Gerald looks at her and smiles.

“Oh, yeah, where are my manners. Arnold, I’d like you to meet Amanda Pearson, she’s the new sophomore English teacher. Amanda, this is my man Arnold Shortman. He’s the school’s guidance counselor.”

Amanda holds out her hand to Arnold. He takes it and she gives his hand a little squeeze as she shakes it.

“Nice to meet you Arnold Shortman.” She says, not taking her eyes off of his.

As he shakes her hand he pegs her as a woman who is not to be trusted and quickly releases his hand from hers. 

“I hate to cut this short,” He says to the two, “but I have a lot of work to catch up on. It was nice to meet you, Amanda.” To Gerald he says, “I’ll catch you at lunch, okay?”

“Sure Bro, looking forward to it.”

Arnold pours himself a quick mug of coffee and takes it with him as he heads to his office. He plans on having a long conversation with his best friend come lunch break about this new teacher to whom Gerald seems just a little too interested in.

Xxxxx

The day passes slowly and sitting in his office, Arnold looks at the clock on the wall. It’s time for his usual lunch break with Gerald so he make his way down to the school’s cafeteria. Grabbing a bite to eat he walks over to a back corner of the lunchroom and sits at a small, out of the way table. Time passes with no Gerald in sight. Once first lunch is over he heads to Gerald’s classroom to see why he didn’t show. Gerald is at his desk waiting for his students to finish filing in. Arnold catches his eye and motions for him to join him in the hall. Once outside the classroom Gerald and Arnold partake in their signature handshake.

“Arnold, my man. What brings you to this part of the woods?”

“Well………. We did have lunch plans, what happened to you?”

“Oh, that. Yeah, hey, I’m sorry I stood you up Bro but you see, Amanda was having trouble figuring out some forms that needed to be filled out in regards to receiving her teacher benefits and payroll and such and I was giving her a hand. I guess the time just slipped away.”

“Riiight.” Arnold says eyeing his friend suspiciously.

“What? It’s the truth. I know what you’re thinking, man, and there’s no need to worry. It’s cool.”

“Yeah, well, just be careful, Gerald. I don’t know why, but I don’t think I trust that Amanda Pearson. She feels like trouble to me.”

“Arnold, Arnold, Arnold, that’s just your lack of marital relations creeping up on you. You’ve got sex on your mind and you’re just hyper sensitive is all. You and Helga need to start getting down and dirty again, then you can get your mind back out of the gutter.”

The late bell rings and Gerald steps back inside to start his class. As Arnold makes his way to his office he wonders if Gerald is right and he is just imagining things. Deciding to give his friend the benefit of the doubt he puts his meeting with Amanda out of his mind.

When he gets home later that afternoon he is greeted by a tired Helga. She wraps her arms around Arnold’s neck, giving him a hug.

“How was your first day back? I hope your fan club didn’t miss you too much.”

He chuckles at that and assures her that now that he’s back all is right again among his fan base.

“A new teacher started while I was out. She’s taking Susan’s place while she’s off on sabbatical.”

“Oh? Anyone I should be worried about?” Helga jokes as she gives him a raise of one eyebrow.

“Ha! No worries there.”

“Why, she not young and pretty enough for you?”

“Oh, she’s young and pretty, she’s just not my type is all.”

“Really now? Just what is your type?”

“You!” He says as he dips her backwards, kissing her deeply. His tongue trails to her neck where he starts to suck softly as he pulls her back up. 

His body is quick to respond to the feel of her in his arms, and he places his forehead to hers. He gives a frustrated sigh.

“I miss you, Helga. I miss our bodies being together. I miss being in you and making you moan and yell my name.” He whispers in her ear as he nibbles on her lobe.

Shivers travel down her spine as she leans in to his lips. “I miss you too, Arnold, but it won’t be too much longer. Just a few more weeks.” 

Her hands move slowly as she works the button on his pants. Undoing the zipper, she reaches through the opening of his boxers and begins stroking him slowly. There’s a catch in his breath when her hand touches him and he grabs her face in his hands and kisses her hungrily. She leads him to the family room couch, pushing him down so he’s lying on his back. Straddling him she unbuttons his shirt and starts trailing kisses down his chest. She reaches his pants and pushes them down his legs. Grabbing hold of him once more her tongue starts to playfully tease him. Right as he gives his first moan Phillip can be heard over the monitor.

“I swear that kid’s got some kind of radar in that head of his!” Arnold says through his frustration.

He starts to prop himself up on his elbows when Helga pushes him back down to the couch and looks him in the eye.

“He’s been crying all day and with the way things have been going he’ll probably cry all night. This is daddy time, he’ll be fine.”

With that said, Helga takes hold of him once more to finish the job that she had started.

xxxxx

Over the next two weeks Helga’s post-partum baby blues finally subside just in time for Phillip’s late night crying to shift in to second gear. When they brought him in for his one month check-up they discussed the crying with the doctor and from all that the couple told her she said that it sounded to her like they were the lucky parents of a colicky baby. Phillip followed the description of colic to a tee. His fussing starts around 3 or 4 in the afternoon and lasts at least four hours, sometimes even heading in to the wee hours of the night. It happens three to four times a week and nothing they do seems to soothe him. They are assured that it is only temporary and if they are lucky it will subside by the time he’s around three months old. The only thing they can do about it is try to find the one or two things that will comfort him. Sometimes it’s rocking him, sometimes its long rides in the car. 

They do their best to share the load. Helga takes the night shifts when Arnold has to be up early for work, and he takes the nights when he’s off. On the weekends they take turns. Sometimes during the day Miriam or Olga will stop by for baby duty so the couple can catch a quick cat nap which helps, but it’s the middle of the night crying that’s the worse. Her family has offered to keep Phillip for a night or two just to give them a break but Helga will have no part of any sleep overs until Phillip is weaned off her breast for good. 

One evening right after his one month check-up, Phillip was having a particularly hard time falling asleep. None of the tried and true remedies seemed to satisfy him. It was a work night for Arnold and Helga was doing her best to let him sleep. Phillip had woken up at 6 AM that morning demanding food. She brought him to bed with her and Arnold so she could rest a little longer before starting her day. 

Most of that day went pretty smoothly, Phillip kept to his schedule of wanting to eat every three to four hours, then napping in between. Helga knew that she should rest whenever Phillip did but there was just so much to do, and the only time she could get anything done was when Phillip was asleep. It was a catch 22 situation. They were hoping that today would be one of the rare nights when Phillip’s colic did not show up, but come around 5:00 they heard the first whimpers of what they have dubbed Phillip’s “Mr. Hyde” cry. So much for their quiet evening. 

By 11 PM Arnold had made the offer to stay up and help, but Helga refused and sent him off to bed while she stayed downstairs for what was going to be another long evening, and long it was. Phillip’s off and on whining went on through the night with Helga trying everything in their repertoire to soothe him. 

Finally, after five hours of pacing and swinging and rocking Phillip drifts off to sleep. It’s 3 AM and Helga is beyond exhausted. Her next blog submission is due in just a few hours and she hasn’t even started it yet. She is also due to submit another poem to the magazine column she is responsible for but luckily she still has a few poems stashed away from before Phillip was born. 

If she was of right mind, logic would tell her to get some rest, then come morning, with hot coffee in hand, start writing her blog. Unfortunately she has not been thinking logically for quite some time now and decides she has a better idea. “If I can record what I want to say in my blog now, I can type it up later and then just submit it.” She thinks hard on this and decides it’s a wonderful idea so off to her laptop she goes. 

She has put Phillip in his carrier to sleep and now places it at her feet as she turns on her computer. Scrolling through the apps she, for whatever reason, clicks in to her Facebook app. “I know,” she irrationally thinks to herself, “I can record a video of what I have to say. Yeah, that will work!”

Thinking she is recording a private video she clicks the record button and then adjusts the webcam so she is centered in the frame that shows up on the computer screen. Unbeknownst to her, she has actually hit the “Go Live” tab and has set the video to “Public” What looks back at her is an exhausted, 20 something year-old woman with deep bags under her eyes and disheveled hair tossed up in a very messy bun. Her faded pink nightgown hangs thin and limp on her as one strap hangs loosely off her shoulder. Despite the fact that she is messy and delirious there is still a touch of sexiness to her as she unwittingly stares into the camera with what can be misconstrued as a come hither look. She goes to hit the record button not realizing she has also hit the “Go Live” button too. Clearing her throat she begins to talk.

“Hello there everyone it’s me, Helga the Haggard, and I’m here to tell you all about the wonders of life as a new mom…..”

She begins talking, keeping things pretty much on track for the first minute or two, but somewhere around minute three or four she veers off course. 

“….Then, the first thing that’s going to happen is you’re going to be tired. So very tired. Your baby is going to cry. Every day, all day. And night. In the last four days I’ve had maybe one night where I’ve gotten more than three hours sleep in a row. Take tonight for example, its 3 AM and I haven’t had any sleep in, like 21 hours. No sleep! Sleep, sleep, sleep, I don’t know what that is anymore. Oh! And the next thing that goes away is sex. Yep, no sex, nope, not for you! I can’t remember how long it’s been and that’s sad, because my husband, well, my husband,”

She stops to give a brief sigh. 

“My husband is just so …….. so sexy. He’s a Shortman, just like his grandfather…….” She stops to think for a second. “but he’s not very short, as a matter of fact he’s almost 6 ft tall. Come to think of it, I’m a Shortman now too! But I AM short compared to him. So I guess you could say, I’m a Shortman who’s married to a tall man, and my husband is a tall man who’s a ………. Shortman! BUWAAAHAHAHAHA!”

She finds this little revelation to be quite funny and begins to laugh hysterically. Her head is currently being propped up by her hand as she rests her elbow on the desk in front of her. As exhaustion finally starts to claim her, her head starts to slip down her arm, finally resting on the desk. What’s left to look at on the screen now is the top of her head with the doorway to the family room in the background.

As this is all taking place downstairs, Arnold is woken up by the sound of laughter. He can’t place where it’s coming from. Noticing that both Helga and Phillip are not in the room he gets up to go looking for them. Staggering downstairs he peeks into the family room and sees Helga asleep at the desk with Phillip in his carrier by her feet. He walks over to them, not realizing that the camera is rolling. Fortunately for him, the camera does not pick up his face. What it does pick up is a bare chested, barefooted man, wearing nothing but old, faded pajama bottoms. The elastic in the waistband is old and stretched making the pants hang loosely down his hips. 

As he approaches his sleeping wife his bare chest grows larger and larger in the camera’s frame. Once behind Helga, the camera picks up every muscle and curve of his almost six packed torso. The lines of his body draw the eye down to the sagging waistband of his pants, leaving much to the imagination of just what lies hidden underneath. He finally notices that the camera is rolling, but is still unaware that he has now gone live for all the world to see. Shaking his head, he hits a button or two in an effort to stop the camera, unfortunately he has hit the tab that actually sends the video out to everyone. With Helga’s video now sent out live to the general public, he turns off the computer and picks up Phillip’s carrier. Gently waking Helga up, he slowly leads her up to bed.


	30. Chapter 30

Arnold’s alarm goes off right on schedule. Dragging himself out of bed he takes his time getting ready for work. Once showered and dressed he sits in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal and sipping on a mug of hot coffee. Reaching for his phone he turns it on and once fully booted up it blows up with notifications. He must have at least 20 texts and phone messages from his friends and co-workers. Wondering what’s going on, he picks up a voicemail from Gerald.

“Hey Arnold, my man, you need to pick up your phone! Have you seen the video that’s going around? Man, that’s one bold move sending out that video.”

He has no idea what Gerald is talking about. Next he listens to Harold’s voicemail.

“AHHHHH, HA HA HA! That’s a good one Aww-nald! You’re just so sex-y, hahahahaha!”

It isn’t until he gets Phoebe’s message that it all starts to make sense.

“Arnold, its Phoebe. I’ve been trying to reach Helga but her phone must be off. Have you seen the live video that got sent out last night on Facebook? Everyone’s talking about it. I do hope it went out to just friends only. That’s not like Helga to do something like that. Is she okay? Have her call me when she can, okay? Thanks.”

Arnold thinks for a minute and then it hits him. “LAST NIGHT! THAT WAS A LIVE VIDEO!!!” He yells internally as he clicks on his Facebook app. 

He scrolls through his feed until he comes across Helga’s live video. In just the few hours that it’s been up it’s generated over 500 views with just as many likes and a handful of shares.

“Oh no – no, no, no, this can’t be!” He yells as he runs up the stairs to wake Helga up.

Running in to the bedroom he grabs his sleeping wife by her shoulders and begins shaking her awake.

“Helga, wake up, you’ve got to do something about this!”

Groggy and disoriented she slowly wakes up.

“What’s wrong? What do you want? Phillip! Is Phillip okay!?”

“Phillip is fine, but look, you have to see this!”

He holds out his phone to her and shows her the video.

“What is this? That’s me! Oh My God, that’s YOU! I don’t understand.”

“Sometime last night you must have decided to make a video on parenting and sent out a live stream to everyone on Facebook, and the worse part of it is the video was set to PUBLIC! You’ve got to go on your Facebook and delete the video, NOW!”

Grabbing her phone off the nightstand she fumbles with the buttons and waits for her phone to boot up. Once on she too is met with a chorus of chimes. Quickly getting into her Facebook she finds the video and instantly deletes it.

“500 views!” Arnold says as he paces the bedroom floor. “How can a video get 500 views in just a few hours? God! I hate social media!”

“Well, calm down now. Considering the millions of people that are on Facebook 500 isn’t so much, really. As long as no one downloaded it, it should be okay. Right?”

“I don’t know! How should I know?” He stands in the middle of the bedroom, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “My co-workers, some of them are Facebook friends of yours too. Oh God, what if they’ve shared it with the other teachers. Helga, how could you do this?”

Phillip starts to cry now and she picks him up holding him to her as she sits in the bed. She’s crying now herself as she tries to come up with answers as to how this could have happened.

“I don’t know what happened.” She stammers. “I remember thinking that if I recorded my thoughts while they were fresh in my mind then it would be easier for me to just type the blog up and send it out. I’m positive I did not hit the send button.”

With Phillip happily attached to her breast she looks up at Arnold.

“Arnold, just what did you do when you turned off the computer? What buttons did you hit?”

Knowing where she’s going he waves his hands out in front of him.

“Ohhh no, don’t you go trying to pin this on me!”

“Well I KNOW I didn’t hit the send button.”

“Yeah but you DID put it on Live Stream! 

“Don’t yell at meeee, it was an accident! I didn’t know what I was doing. I’ve been so tired. At least your face wasn’t showing. I looked like some trashy, over the hill, drunken housewife. All I needed was to have curlers in my hair and a cigarette hanging out of my mouth to complete the picture. ”

Her crying has turned into deep sobs, she gently rocks Phillip as he suckles. Seeing that their arguing really isn’t helping the situation Arnold sits down on the bed, rubbing his face with his hands.

“My grandfather commented on the video.” Arnold says from behind his hands.

“Yeah, well MY parents are on my friend’s list.” Helga shoots back, one upping him.

“Fine. You win.”

His shoulders begin to shake, a few seconds later he begins to chuckle.

“You mind telling me just what you find so humorous in this?” Helga asks.

He looks at her and through a smile says, “I’m a tall man who’s a Shortman? That right there tells me that you were, indeed, delirious.”

They look at each other finally seeing the humor in the situation and burst out laughing.

He reaches over and gives her a big bear hug. “I love you Mrs. Shortman.”

“I love you too Tallman.”

xxxxx

Arriving at work Arnold makes his way through the campus hoping he can make it to his office without being stopped. He passes a few of his adoring fans along the way and is greeted with no more than the normal giggles and doe-eyed stares. Relieved to have dodged that bullet he enters the building. Stopping off at the teacher’s lounge for his normal morning coffee he is saddened to find that his luck has not held out.

“Well, there’s our Mr. Tallman, oh, excuse me, I mean Shortman.” Says Derek, the school’s advanced calculus teacher.

“Very funny, Derek.” Arnold says as he pours his coffee.

“That was quite the attire you were wearing last night.” Says Sally Abernathy, the chemistry teacher, “You looked like a low budget Chippendale’s dancer.”

Arnold’s face turns beet red when hears a newly familiar voice enter the room.

“Oooo, a Chippendale’s dancer, huh? Seems like I missed out on something.” Amanda says as she eyes Arnold.

“Don’t worry.” Arnold says, brushing her off. “Believe me, it was nothing. Nothing at all.”

“I don’t know.” Says Sally as she pats Arnold on his shoulder. “Our man Arnold here was showing off some pretty impressive skin last night on Facebook.”

Amanda raises her eyebrows as she tries to imagine what lies beneath Arnold’s clothes. “Really now? Any way I might be able to take a gander at that video of yours?”

“It was not MY video and no, it’s been deleted. It went out by accident and other than being totally embarrassing there was nothing scandalous about it. It was just a guy without his shirt on.”

“And a beautiful woman in a sexy nightgown. Don’t forget that.” Derek says.

Arnold’s temper begins to rise at the mention of Helga in her nightgown. “Watch it, Derek, that’s my wife you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, and lucky you, she’s quite the looker too.”

Arnold starts to take a step towards Derek when he throws his hands up for protection. “Hold up now Arnold, I was just joking. No harm meant.”

“Right. I’m out of here.” Arnold grumbles. He heads for the door and opens it just as Gerald is about to do the same from the other side. The two stand face to face for a moment before Gerald speaks up.

“Yo, Arnold. How ya doing my man?” Gerald says lightheartedly, unaware of the previous tension in the room.

“Just dandy.” Arnold says as he pushes past him. 

Gerald is about to go after him when Amanda grabs him by the hand, pulling him into the small lounge. Smiling at her Gerald makes a mental note to try and catch Arnold later at lunch and see how he’s doing.

xxxxx

Arnold sits at his desk shuffling papers around, not really in the mood to concentrate on work. He notices a pamphlet advertising a winter’s teacher’s conference being held at the South Bay Radisson down in San Diego, California. He scans it “Blah, blah, blah, …..innovative new teaching styles,……..blah, blah, …professional growth hours, and so on and so forth.” He throws it on his desk wondering why it’s even there. He’s a counselor, not a teacher. He doesn’t need to worry about things like professional growth hours and such. He’s torn from his thoughts when his office phone rings. Picking it up he winces as he hears the principal’s voice on the other end. 

“Oh, great.” He thinks to himself before giving a cheery “Principal Dunn, what can I do for you today?” He thinks back to when he and the gang were teenagers and attended Hillwood High, he was the principal back then, too. He chuckles as he remembers their nickname for him, Principal “Dunce”. 

“I was wondering if I could perhaps see you in my office if you have the time.” Comes an answer from the other end of the phone line. 

“Crap!” Arnold thinks to himself. “Sure Principal Dunn, be glad to. Be there in a minute.”

He knows full well what this is probably about and braces himself for a lecture. As he walks the quiet halls four years’ worth of memories fill his head. He passes by a trophy case and notices the All City Varsity Basketball Championship trophy that the school won the year he, Gerald and a few other of the guys played on the team. He can picture Helga’s face as she would sit next to Phoebe cheering them on, then the way she’d congratulate him up in his room after each winning game. Continuing on he feels like a kid again, being sent to the principal’s office for some dumb prank that he and Gerald were stupid enough to get caught at. Standing at Principal Dunn’s door he knocks and then braces himself for a lecture.

A solemn, “Come in.” Can be heard on the other side. Putting on his sweetest smile Arnold enters the room.

“Ah, Mr. Shortman, come in. Please, have a seat.” Dunn says as he motions to a chair.

Arnold feigns innocence. “Good afternoon Principal Dunn, you wanted to talk to me about something?”

“Yes, I did. You see, a certain matter was brought to my attention this morning of a certain….” Dunn clears his throat before continuing. “Video that’s been going around. I believe you know what I’m talking about?”

“Umm, yeah, I do.” Arnold says, a bit embarrassed. “I can explain that.”

“I’d like to hear what you have to say.” Dunn says as he sits back and crosses his arms across his chest, a move that still makes Arnold feel like guilty kid.

“Well, as you know, my wife and I just recently became parents.”

“Yes, I am aware of that, congratulations by the way.”

“Yeah, thanks. Well, anyway, turns out Phillip is a bit of a colicky baby and many nights are spent trying to sooth his crying. It gets pretty stressful.”

“I can understand that, our second child was a colicky baby too, but how does that relate to the video that’s going around?”

“Well, you see, my wife, Helga. You remember Helga, right?”

“Ms Pataki, yes, I remember her well.”

“Right, Ms Pataki. Well, she’s taken on the brunt of dealing with Phillip what with being home all day with him and late night breast feedings and such, all while still trying to keep up with her writing jobs. It’s been a strain and, well I guess last night she just snapped. It was an honest mistake, she didn’t realize she was live streaming a video, she thought it was private. Just for her eyes alone.” 

He stops talking, trying to read Dunn’s expression. When Dunn doesn’t say anything he continues on.

“When I found her downstairs I went to shut the video down but while doing so I guess I sorta hit the send button, and that’s how it went out live to everyone. It was an honest mistake.”

Dunn stares Arnold down, an old trick he use to use back in the day to handle any delinquents that would come across his way. After a moment he finally speaks up.

“It’s obvious that sending out that video was never meant to happen but you have to realize, Hillwood High is a solemn institution, we can’t have members of its faculty parading around half naked on the internet for all the world to see.” Dunn leans forward, shaking a finger at Arnold. “What if any of our students had gotten a hold of it? This school would become a laughingstock!” 

“Don’t you think I thought of that you pretentious prick?” Arnold thinks to himself. Out loud he says, “I know, that was the first thing that went through my head. Believe me, I had Helga delete the video as fast as I could.”

Satisfied that he’s made Arnold feel stupid enough, Dunn relaxes a bit. 

“We’re lucky this was handled in a timely manner before any damage could be done. Just do me a favor and be more careful in the future. After all, we do have a reputation to keep up.”

“I understand Principal Dunn, I won’t let anything like this happen again.”

“Yes, yes, see that you don’t. Congratulations again on your little one, and give Ms Pataki a warm hello from me.”

Arnold gives Dunn a little salute as he gets up to leave the office. “Will do, sir.”

Shutting the door behind him as he leaves Arnold thinks about how some things never change and how Dunn is still the same self-righteous ass that he was when they were kids. Relieved that at least that meeting is finally over and put behind him he heads to the cafeteria to look for Gerald. 

Entering the crowded room he scans the tables for Gerald. He spies him sitting at a round table, engrossed in conversation with none other than Ms Amanda Pearson herself. He shakes his head hoping his friend knows what he’s doing and walks over to the lunch line. Grabbing a sandwich and a bowl of pudding he decides he’s not in the mood for Amanda’s flirting and heads to his office where he eats his lunch alone. He looks at a newly framed picture of Helga as she sits holding Little Phillip and suddenly can’t wait to be home.


	31. Chapter 31

With his day finally over, Arnold walks up the steps to the boarding house. What hits him as he walks in takes him by surprise. Taking a deep breath in, his sinuses are filled with the delectable aroma of Olga’s beef stew, a favorite of his. He walks to the kitchen expecting to find Olga fast at work but instead is greeted with the sight of Helga. She is wearing an apron as she stands at the stove stirring a pot of stew. On the countertop is a pile of onion skins and potato and carrot peelings. She is humming as she busies herself with the task at hand. He walks up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, giving her a kiss on her neck. She gives a startled jump at his touch.

“Arnold! Criminy, you just about gave me a heart attack! Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

He laughs as she turns to look at him. Leaning down he gives her a proper kiss.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you really making stew? It smells wonderful.”

“Yep!” She says, feeling quite proud of herself. “It’s Olga’s recipe. She came over today and walked me step by step through the recipe. I did it all myself while she tended to Phillip.”

He takes a deep breath in and a new smell hits him that he didn’t notice before. “Is that fresh baked bread I smell too?”

“Yes, but Olga did have to help me with that. I couldn’t get the dough right so she showed me how.”

“Look at you, you’re just my little Suzie Homemaker. What brought you to do all of this?”

“I don’t know, I was just feeling bad about what happened this morning and was worried about what would happen once you got to work. I figured you might have had a bad day so I wanted to make things nice.” She gives him a questioning look. “Just how was work, anyway?”

“Ugh, horrible.” Arnold says. He walks over to the refrigerator and pulls out a cold beer. Opening it he sits at the kitchen table.

“Uh oh, how bad was it?”

“Well, let me first say that I think we’ve luckily dodged a bullet and none of the kids got wind of the video. At least it seems that way. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the teachers.”

“Ohhh, I don’t think I like where this is headed.”

“Yeah, I pretty much got bombarded as soon as I hit the teacher’s lounge. I was pretty much compared to a, hmmm, how did Sally put it, ‘A low budget Chippendale’s dancer.”

Helga flinched at the term. “Ohhh, that’s not good.”

“Yeah well, you didn’t go totally unnoticed yourself.”

“Oh, God, what happened?”

“I think you have a new fan in Derek.”

“Derek? The math teacher?”

Arnold gives a chuckle. “Yeah, he thought you looked very sexy in your pink nightgown.”

“Criminy.” Helga says as she buries her face in her hands.

“The teasing I could take, that was to be expected. It was when Dunn called me into his office where I started to really get annoyed with things.”

“Uh oh, knowing Dunce I bet he was chomping at the bit to get ahold of you. See, I told you when you took that job to try to stay on his good side. What did he do?”

“Not much, really, it was more the way he did it. He basically acted like the pompous asshole that he is and berated me for a bit. Telling me how the school has a reputation to uphold and that stunts like this aren’t good for appearances.” 

“Geeze, Arnold, I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that.”

He looks at her, patting her hand that sits on the table. “Eh, don’t worry about it, the worse is over, I’m sure, and things will go back to normal soon.”

“Well I hope Gerald at least had your back.”

“Heh, I didn’t see much of Gerald today, he was too busy hanging out with Amanda.”

The mention of Gerald and the new teacher caused Helga to raise an eyebrow.

“Oh really now? Is there anything I should know about?”

Arnold regrets mentioning the subject.

“Not really, she’s just your typical man hunter and I think Gerald is smart enough to see it. I’m sure he’s just trying to make her feel welcomed.”

“Welcomed, huh? He better not make her feel TOO welcomed.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it.” Arnold grabs his beer as he heads upstairs to change into more comfortable clothing. 

“By the way, how was your day?” He calls over his shoulder as she follows him upstairs.

“Other than having to field a few phone calls in regards to the video it was a pretty normal day. Phillip was the perfect angel for his Auntie Olga.”

As if he heard his name being mentioned, Phillip gives a loud squawk that can be heard through the monitor’s handset that Helga has clipped to her apron pocket.

“Speak of the devil.” She says “I think someone wants his daddy.”

After a quick change Arnold greets is son with a soft smile and carries him downstairs. Sitting in his favorite chair with his son in his lap the weight of the day’s stress slowly starts to lift and Arnold puts his day behind him.

xxxxx

Two more weeks have passed as Helga readies herself for her six week check up with Dr. Johnson. If all goes well she and Arnold won’t be getting much sleep tonight, and it won’t be due to Phillip and his late night feedings. He has been eating more which has enabled him to sleep longer between feedings. On nights when his colic is not too bad he has gone almost a full five hours before waking up to nurse. She is hoping this will be one of those nights.

She had gotten a pretty good night’s sleep so she is up to make Arnold some breakfast before he heads off to work. The sexual tension between them is thick and they both just want to get this day over with so they can finally get back to being the affectionate couple that they were before Phillip’s birth. 

Sitting down to their eggs and toast the couple stare at each other over their mugs of coffee as they sip, the pupils of their eyes growing large with their desire for each other. 

“What time is your appointment?” Arnold chokes out through a husky voice.

“Ten.” Is all she says before taking a drink of coffee and swallowing it with a strained gulp.

“Call me when you’re done?”

She nods her head yes.

“How have you been feeling? Do you feel like you’re ready to get back to ………… things?”

Again she nods her head yes.

He takes her hand and leans across the table to kiss her. She meets him half way as their lips meet over their mugs of steaming coffee. He places his other hand at the back of her neck, pulling her closer. Helga’s phone rings, bringing them back to reality. Breathing heavily she looks at the caller ID. 

“It’s Olga, She’s coming to the doctor with me so we can have lunch afterwards. She probably wants to double check the time of my appointment.”

Arnold gets up and brings his dishes to the sink. “I should get going anyway.” 

Walking back over to her, he gives her a kiss as she picks up the phone.

“It’s Friday, don’t make any plans for the weekend, you’ll be busy.” He gives her a leer that is charged with innuendo, then kisses her forehead as he rushes out the door.

She gives an audible sigh into the receiver of her phone. Olga hears it and is concerned.

“Baby Sister? Are you okay?” She asks, a hint of worry in her voice.

Helga watches him leave, a large smile on her face. “Yeah, Olga.” She says into the receiver, “Everything’s perfect.”

xxxxx

Helga rummages through her diaper bag as she sits waiting for her appointment with Dr. Johnson. Olga sits next to her cooing to Phillip who is still strapped into his baby carrier. Finding the rattle she was looking for she hands it to Olga as her name is called. Giving Phillip a quick kiss she follows the nurse to the scale that sits outside the exam room. Stepping up on to it she is happy with the progress she is making with dropping her excess baby weight, but she knows it’s still going to be an uphill battle. Leading her into the room, the nurse has her undress and put on the flimsy paper gown that Helga hates. 

She sits on the exam table, dangling her feet off the end. She’s anxious to get this appointment over with and get on with her day. After a few minutes Dr. Johnson finally comes in to join her.

“So, here we are. How have you been doing these past six weeks?”

“Other than the lack of sleep I’ve been doing really well.”

“That’s great. Now if you’ll lay back I’d like to see how you’ve healed up.”

Helga lays back as Dr. Johnson washes her hands and puts on a pair of gloves. Walking back to Helga she gives her a quick exam.

“For the hard time you had with the birth, you’ve healed up quite nicely. Everything looks back in place.”

Walking back to the sink she throws away her gloves and rewashes her hands.

“Do you have any questions?”

Helga sits up, a bit embarrassed to be having this conversation.

“I do have one.” She says, starting to blush. “So is it okay to start having sex again?”

“Most definitely. You may feel a little dry down there for a while as your hormones continue to settle back down but other than that you can go back to having a normal sex life with no worries.”

“What about birth control?”

“Once you slow down on the breastfeeding you can feel free to go back on the pill, it won’t hurt Phillip.”

That was all Helga needed to hear. Once back in the car with Olga, Helga pulls out her cell phone and sends Arnold a quick message.

“It’s go time.” She types, “I’ll see you tonight.” She adds a couple of emoji’s for good measure.

A minute later she gets his one word reply.

“Excellent!”

On the drive home she asks Olga to make a stop at a little specialty shop hidden away in the downtown area. Leaving Olga and Phillip in the car Helga runs into the shop. Perusing the isles she looks for something to make her night with Arnold a little more interesting. She picks up a bottle of flavored massage oil. A couple of isles over she spies some edible body paints and decides to pick those up too. She hits up the “toy” isle and adds a couple of interesting looking gadgets to her basket. With the scented candles and bath salts that she already has at home she is ready for their big night. 

xxxxx

The afternoon passes by incredibly slowly for Arnold and by 2:00 he’s had enough and decides to leave work early. He passes Mrs. Vitello’s flower shop on his way to the boarding house and decides to make a stop and picks up a bouquet of six red roses and baby’s breath. When he gets to the boarding house he searches for Helga and finds her sitting in the family room with Olga. Phillip is stretched out on Olga’s lap as she holds a small stuffed animal out for him to look at. 

“This is a cozy scene.” He says, getting their attention.

“Arnold!” Helga says as she runs up to greet him. “You’re home early!”

He holds the flowers out to her, smiling as she takes them. 

“Work was slow and I figured I’d get an early start on the weekend.”

Olga sees the way the two are looking at each other and takes it as her que to leave.

“You have good timing, Arnold, I was just thinking I needed to be getting home to Samuel.” She says as she gets up.

Handing Phillip to Helga she whispers a quick, “Have fun.” In her ear, causing Helga to blush.

“What was that all about?” Arnold asks, feeling like he’s missed out on something.

“Oh, nothing to worry about. Thank you for the beautiful roses.” She says, changing the subject.

He walks closer to her, taking a finger he brushes some stray hairs behind her ear before trailing the finger gently down her cheek. “So things went well at your check-up huh?”

She stares into his eyes as she leans in to him. “Yeah, they did.”

He leans down, his lips brush hers as he speaks. “That’s good to hear.” He kisses her softly.

Her tongue traces his bottom lip. “Yeah, it is.” She gently bites the lip she just licked.

His breathing becomes heavy. “So, we should do something to celebrate.”

She gives him a small smile. “Yeah, maybe we should.”

Just as their lips touch for another kiss they hear a fussing sound coming from Helga’s arms. Turning their attention to Phillip they recognize his “Mr. Hyde” cry starting to come on. 

They turn back to each other, a look of helplessness on their faces. 

“Noooooo.” Helga moans, “Not tonight!”


	32. Chapter 32

“Aw, Phillip.” Helga says as she gently bounces her baby. “You want to be a good boy for mommy and daddy tonight, don’t you.”

Phillip answers her by drawing his legs up to his body then thrashing them out as he lets out a scream in his patented, colicky cry.

“Now, Helga.” Arnold starts, “It may not be so bad. Tonight could be one of his good nights and he’ll only cry for an hour or two before settling down.”

“We can only hope. He can’t be hungry because he just ate right before you got here. I just changed him and I’m not smelling more poop. Maybe he just wants to be walked.”

She begins pacing the family room, swinging Phillip back and forth as she goes.

“I’m going to put the roses in water.” Arnold says as he heads towards the kitchen, frustration obvious on his face.

He comes back with car keys in hand. “Let’s take him for a drive. Sometimes that helps.”

“Anything’s worth a shot.” She says with hope in her voice.

They hit the highway with Helga sitting in back, talking to Phillip as Arnold drives. The soothing sounds of soft jazz play on the radio. After driving for ten minutes Phillip begins to calm down, his screams turning to soft whimpers. Arnold drives for another five minutes before turning the car around and heading home. By the time they reach the boarding house Phillip has drifted off to La La Land and snoozes peacefully in his seat. Helga speaks in a soft whisper.

“Do you think that did the trick? Think he’ll stay calm through the night?”

“I don’t know.” Arnold says with doubt in his voice. “Only time will tell. If we can just get him in the house without waking him up we might be okay.”

They walk carefully into the house. Arnold sets Phillip and his carrier down carefully on the kitchen table. Phillip can sense the lack of movement and starts to wake up. In an effort to keep him from fully waking up Helga takes him in her arms and gives him an exaggerated swing. She gives a little dip at the knees with each swing. It’s a motion that’s worked in the past and it seems to do the job right now too. 

Arnold sits at the kitchen table watching. “This is crazy, I never even considered we’d be dealing with a colicky baby. How long did the doctor say this could last again?”

“If we’re lucky, no more than three months or so. If we’re not……who knows.”

Arnold lets out a small breath. “Damn, three months.”

“Yeah, and we’re lucky, his crying could be worse, I’ve read some pretty gruesome horror stories. At least Phillip’s bouts normally only last a few hours at a time. Some kids go on all night.”

“Well I’m getting hungry. I’m going to order a pizza.” Arnold says as he picks up his phone.

“Okay, get extra olives on half, okay?”

Helga takes Phillip and walks around the house with him. Spying his motorized swing she straps him into it. Placing the dial to high she lets the swing do the work for a while, giving her arms a rest. Phillip grumbles a bit, not 100% happy with the swing, but lets it go for now. By the time the pizza comes Phillip is still content to sit in his swing, and is still fully awake.

Helga sits next to Arnold on the couch and props her feet up on the coffee table, the open pizza box in front of them. They watch Phillip as they eat.

“This really wasn’t how I had planned on tonight going.” Helga says as she plucks some olives off her slice and pops them in her mouth.

“Oh yeah?” Arnold says, wiping pizza cheese off his chin. “Just what did you have planned?”

“I don’t know. Definitely not this. I pictured us sitting in a hot scented bath, me leaning up against you, you kissing my neck as you run a soapy washcloth across my body. The air all steamy and sexy.”

He chuckles. “You watch too much TV.”

“Hmmpf, well how did YOU see the evening going?”

“Simple, really, me throwing you down on the bed, ripping off your clothes and having my way with you until the sun comes up in the morning.”

“Heh, yeah, that’s probably more like it.” Helga gives a sigh as she takes a bite of pizza.

Arnold looks at the time on his phone. “It’s only 8:00, he could still go to sleep on the early side.”

“Perhaps.” Helga says, but she’s not betting any money on it.

By the time they’re done eating Phillip has had enough of the swing and is demanding to be taken out. 

Its Arnold’s turn to tend to Phillip while Helga cleans up dinner. After throwing away the paper plates and putting the leftover pizza in the fridge she has an idea.

“Hey Arnold, lets’ give Little Phil a bath. Maybe the lavender bath wash will calm him. It’s worked before.”

“Anything’s worth a shot.” Arnold says as he enters the kitchen.”

“Undress him while I get the bath tub, will ya?”

“Yes ma’am.” Arnold says.

Returning to the kitchen, Helga places the baby tub in the sink and fills it with lukewarm water. Arnold places Phillip in the water and the first thing he does is pee. They are both used to him doing that by now and without complaint Helga empties the pee filled tub and refills it with fresh water. The warm water has an almost instant calming effect on Phil and his screams turn into quiet whimpers before stopping altogether. 

Arnold supports Little Phil with his left arm, making sure to gently cradle his head high enough out of the water so as to keep it out of his face. Helga wets a washcloth and rubs the lavender bath wash on it until the cloth is frothy with bubbles. Phillip looks up to his parent’s eyes softly cooing as he splashes in the water. His parents periodically giggle as they get splashed from his kicks. It’s a special moment for the little family whenever the bathtub is concerned. A bonding moment between parent and child. 

They let Phillip continue to splash and play until the water starts to turn cold. Taking him out, Helga holds up a bath towel and wraps him up in it. Holding the freshly cleaned baby to her cheek she inhales deeply. The smell of love and happiness fills her soul. She lays him gently on a changing pad and dries him off completely. Arnold rubs him down with lotion as he talks to his son.

“There now Phillip, doesn’t that feel better, all clean and happy.”

Phillip answers with what Arnold swears is a laugh but Helga’s not so sure.

“I don’t think so, Arnoldo, he’s too young to start laughing.”

“Just look at him, he’s smiling, I’m sure that was a laugh.”

“That’s not a real smile, it’s a reflex smile. At least, according to the books that is. They say babies don’t intentionally smile until they’re like two months old.”

“Well, you can think what you want, I’m calling it a real smile.”

“Whatever you say, Daddy.”

Enjoying the moment of peace they return to the family room. Arnold sits in his favorite recliner with Phillip on his lap. He enjoys some quiet interaction with his son for about a half an hour before Phillip begins to scrunch his face up in an all too familiar way.

“Uh oh.” Arnold warns. “Brace yourself, I think he’s gearing up for round two.”

“No, please say you’re joking.”

No sooner does Helga say that when Phillip lets out a loud scream.

“Ugh, here we go.” Arnold says, getting up to walk with his son.

xxxxx

The crying goes on for a good 2 or so hours until they finally get him settled for the night. Exhausted once again, they head upstairs to put their son to bed. Helga starts to head to their bedroom so she can lay him in his bassinet. Arnold places a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from entering the room.

“Where are you going?” He whispers.

“To put him in his bassinet, where else would I be going?”

“Oh no, not tonight, he’s sleeping in his crib tonight.”

“But he’s never slept all night in his crib, he needs to be by our side.”

“No, he’s right across the hall and we have the baby monitor. Plus we’ll keep both doors open. He’ll be fine.”

Reluctantly, Helga lays Phillip in his crib. She stands watching him for a moment before Arnold takes her by the hand and leads her to their bedroom. They both fall to their bed, lying next to each other staring at the ceiling. Its past midnight and they pray for at least four hours of quiet.

After a moment Helga gives a little giggle. “Like I said before, this is NOT how I envisioned this night going.”

Arnold rolls to his side and drapes an arm across her waist, laying his head at her chest. “Ugh, me neither.” 

She runs her fingers slowly through his hair, he closes his eyes, relishing her touch. “Tell me again, just how did you envision the night to be?” She asks.

“Well, first I’d tell you just how beautiful you are to me and how much I love you.” He says as he lifts her shirt and gives her belly a kiss.

She giggles at his touch and continues to play with his hair. “And then?”

He pulls himself on top of her, using his elbows for support as he looks her in the eye. “And then I’d start to trail my tongue along your neck and when I reach your lips I kiss you very gently.” He mimics the motions he’d just described.

It doesn’t take long for their passion to take over, and before they know it they find themselves lying naked among a pile of discarded clothes. 

His fingers roam her body as he trails kisses from her chest to her neck. Her skin is soft under his calloused hands and she smells of vanilla and honeysuckle. His arms engulf her as he holds her close, savoring the feel of her skin on his. He has waited so long to be with her like this and he becomes aggressive as he finally gives in to his longings. She doesn’t complain, though, instead she uses her body to encourage him on. When he finally enters her he stops for the briefest of seconds to relish the feel of her body as it encases itself around him like a warm, wet glove. His grunts become animalistic as he lifts his hips before repeatedly plunging himself back deep inside her. 

She lays under him, allowing herself to indulge in every movement he makes as he glides effortlessly in and out of her. It isn’t necessarily the sex that she missed, no, it is more HIM. She missed him. She missed feeling him on her and in her, and around her as he’d wrap her up in his arms. She missed the warmth of his breath on her neck, the gentle touch of his fingertips as they’d explore her body. The wet trails of his tongue as he’d glide it across her skin. She missed how he knows her so well, so intimately. She missed the words he whispers in her ear when he makes love to her. She was worried that things would be different after delivering a baby, but her fears were all for naught. Making love to Arnold right now wasn’t just the same as always, it was better.

Unable to contain her passion any longer she lets go, sinking her teeth deep into his shoulder. The gasp that escapes him as teeth meet flesh fuels her fire, causing her to dig in with her nails, slowly dragging them across his back. The old Helga is back, the “nineteen year old, take no prisoners, bang me until I cry for more” Helga is back. She knows she should probably use this time to get the much needed sleep that her body craves, and she’ll probably regret it the next morning, but she doesn’t care. Her body also needs this. It needs the loving touch of her husband. It needs the release she gets each time Arnold brings her to the height of her passion and she lets go with a yell of his name. With each mind blowing, toe curling release she shudders as the weeks of pent up frustration and self-doubt leave her body until she finally has no more to give. 

All thought leaves him as he gives in to his senses. He is lifted to another dimension as the endorphins race through his body filling him with pleasure. She is his crack, his personal heroin. Like a junkie he craves her, desperate for more. After a while he begins to feel the tension build up within him, anxious to spill out inside of her. He holds on, letting it build so he can fully savor the moment when he lets go. It gets harder to hold on and his grunts become shouts as he walks that fine line between pain and pleasure until at last he allows himself to be rewarded, and with one last thrust he sees red as he explodes with a fervor that he has never felt before. He continues to move within her, each lessening thrust spilling his seed until the last of it is gone from his body. 

They don’t speak because words are not necessary. All they’ve had to say they said with their bodies. He lay on top of her, the only movement coming from their chests as they catch their breath. After a bit she begins to nuzzle his neck and he smiles. He kisses her cheek and nibbles her ear. Their hands softly caress each other as their bodies regain strength. Once rested their kisses again become passionate. Their bodies come together but this time it is slow and loving. 

They repeat the pattern throughout the night until sometime in the wee hours when they fall into a deep sleep. The sun has not yet peeked over the horizon when a cry comes over the baby monitor. Helga is the first to hear it. She turns the sound off so it doesn’t wake up Arnold and carefully slides out from under him. She finds his shirt and slips her arms into it, wrapping it around her. She’s a bit sore as she walks to get her hungry child but each tender muscle reminds her of the night they just had and she smiles. Picking up Phillip she sits in the rocker and places him at her breast which he greedily accepts. She can tell it’s going to be a long, tiring day but she doesn’t care. Leaning back in the chair she closes her eyes and hums a quiet tune as she rocks her baby. She thinks of Arnold laying in the next room and is positive that she is the luckiest woman alive.


	33. Chapter 33

They are groggy as they sit across the kitchen table from each other, each with a steaming mug of coffee. Phillip sits idly in his carrier which they’ve placed on top of the table. They both woke up famished and are now polishing off a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon AND sausage. They are both sore and achy from the night before and laugh at each muscle twitch when they move. Arnold rubs a particularly tender spot on his right shoulder.

“That’s probably going to bruise up.” He says, giving her an accusing look.

“Not my fault.” She says through a mouthful of pancake. “That’s your penalty for being so sexy.”

“Ugh, I feel like I’m 100 years old.” He grimaces. 

“That’s what comes from cramming three months of pent up sex into one night.”

“I’ve got something I’d like to cram somewhere.” He says, then winces as he feels a twitch in his side. “That is, if I wasn’t quite so sore right now.” He gives his back a light stretch.

“Eh, give it an hour or two and a hot shower and you’ll be good as new. Criminy, you sound like an old man.”

Arnold furrows his eyebrows and speaks in an old man voice. “Oh yeah, well back in the old days young whipper snappers like yourself respected their elders and didn’t go around making fun of them.”

Helga chuckles, “My elders? What are you, all of five months older than me?”

Arnold takes in a wheezy breath. “Hey, older is older, it doesn’t matter by how much.” Playfully banging his fist down on the table he wheezes, “Now get this old man some more coffee!”

“Yes, grandpa.” Helga takes both mugs to the coffee pot and refreshes their drinks.

“So,” she says, walking back to the table, “what do you feel like doing today?”

He gives her a leer. “You.”

“Again? You sure you’ve got it in you after last night?”

“Hey! I’m still a virile, young man, I can go all weekend.” He looks over to Phil. “That is, if he cooperates.”

Arnold speaks directly to Phil now. “You’ve got your old man’s back, don’t ya Phillip my man?”

Phillip gives a squawk in response.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Great, not even two months old and already he’s siding with the men. I thought little boys were supposed to be ‘mamma’s boys’.” 

“They are, except where sex is involved, then the Bro Code kicks in.”

“I thought the Bro Code was ‘Bro’s before Ho’s.’”

“That’s one of them. The ‘Code’ is a very complex thing.”

“Whatever you say, Arnoldo. Speaking of Bro’s, was Geraldo mad when you broke off your usual Saturday afternoon of watching football all day?”

“No, as a matter of fact, I think he had already made other plans with Amanda.”

Helga’s eyes become wide at Arnold’s comment.

“What? Just what’s going on between those two anyway?”

“I don’t know, I’ve been trying not to pry, but they do seem to be spending a lot of time together at work. I haven’t had lunch with him for over a week.”

Helga’s eyes narrow and her voice gets low. “If he’s doing anything that’s going to end up hurting Phoebe I’m going to kill him.”

“Now, Helga. There’s no proof that anything more than him trying to help her adjust to a new job at a new school is going on. Don’t jump to conclusions. Besides, Thanksgiving is this Thursday, Gerald said he was flying down to see Phoebe for the holiday. Lets’ see how things go.”

“Yeah, but you said yourself that you don’t trust her.”

“And I also said that Gerald is smart enough not to get caught up in her web. Let’s just drop it, okay?”

“I don’t like this, Arnold, but I will ……. For now.”

Figuring that’s the best he’ll get out of Helga Arnold drops the subject. He looks over at Phillip and happily notices that he’s fallen asleep. Looking at Helga he places a finger to his lips.

“Shhh, look, he’s sleeping.”

Helga looks at her sleeping child. Then, out of the corner of her eye she looks to Arnold and says, “Well look at that, he fell asleep just in time for us to, um, do the dishes.”

Arnold gives Helga a raise of his eyebrows. “Or, just in time for us to try out those toys we never got to last night.”

“Heh, only if we can get him upstairs without waking him up.”

Getting up she grabs the carrier and they walk upstairs. Helga takes Phillip to the nursery while Arnold heads to their bedroom. A few minutes later Helga enters the bedroom to find Arnold lying naked on their bed, a tube of edible body paint in his hand. Giving her a wink, he squeezes a bit on his stomach and brushes on a downward pointing arrow. He looks back up to her with a sly smile.

Grabbing a paint tube and brush of her own, Helga joins her husband on their bed.

xxxxx

With Thanksgiving just a few days away Olga starts busying herself with preparations for the family’s traditional holiday dinner. Every year since Helga can remember, Olga has taken charge of all the decorating and cooking, doling out jobs to each family member. This year she’s decided to make new matching chair backs and table runners for the occasion. With a bit of effort, she coerces Helga into taking a trip with her deep into the downtown area to this wholesale fabric warehouse that she knows of.

Olga arrives at the boarding house with her usual upbeat attitude, ready for a full day of shopping. Leaving Arnold to care for Phillip, Helga begrudgingly heads off with her sister.

“Oh Baby Sister, we are going to have the perfect day, I just know it!” Olga gushes.

This is the first time Helga’s been away from her baby since he was born and she can’t help but disagree.

“I don’t know, Olga, I hope Phillip is going to be alright. He’s never been without his mommy before.”

“Don’t worry, Helga, who better to watch Phillip than his own daddy. The two boys will be fine. Think of it as a father/son bonding time.”

“Yeah, but, what if Phillip gets into one of his crying fits and Arnold can’t calm him? What if Phillip gets extra hungry and goes through all the breastmilk I’ve pumped. What’s he going to eat?”

“Baby Sister, if anything goes wrong Arnold will call you and we can turn around and go home. Stop worrying and enjoy the day.”

Helga did have to agree that it did feel good to be out of the house. It was easier for Arnold because he got the chance to get away from things three times a week when he went to work. Helga, on the other hand, has been dealing with the whole parenting thing 24/7 since the birth. Deciding Olga is right, she relaxes a bit and puts her two men out of her mind.

When they arrive at the warehouse Helga is amazed at how big it really is. She’s never seen so much material in one place. They take their time strolling through isle after isle of the different fabrics. The further back into the warehouse they get, the more elaborate the fabric becomes. 

Once they have their fill of looking, they head to the seasonal isle and Olga gets down to business. She chooses a print with all the colors of fall. It’s got a traditional pattern of pumpkins and leaves running throughout it. She chooses a rust colored fabric to outline the table runners, and matching organza to make bows for the chair backs. 

Leaving the warehouse Helga’s stomach starts to rumble, bringing up the fact that its lunch time. Olga, as always, knows of this adorable little place nearby that they can go to for lunch. Being in full starvation mode, Helga agrees to try her little bistro. 

Deciding to walk, they make their way through the crowded street. When they reach the restaurant they stand on the sidewalk, peering through the large picture window, trying to gauge just how crowded it is. Looking through the window Helga thinks she sees a familiar figure sitting at a small corner table. 

Stepping inside her eyes immediately scan the restaurant floor until she spots him. There, happily engaged in conversation with a woman she doesn’t recognize, sits none other than her old friend, Gerald. She surmises by her looks that the woman he is with must be the Amanda person Arnold has told her about. 

Furious with Gerald, and not bothering to give him the benefit of the doubt like Arnold has, she pulls out her cell phone and snaps a few pictures. Something catches Gerald’s eye which causes him to turn his head in her direction. Dropping her camera from her face, their eyes lock. She sees the shocked look on his face as recognition sets in. She holds the stare for a moment, making sure he registers that he’s been found out, then turns and grabs Olga by the arm, pulling her out of the restaurant.

“Baby Sister!” Olga exclaims in confusion, “What’s going on?”

“I’m not feeling well, and want to go home.” Helga answers as she pulls Olga down the busy street.

In the meantime Gerald knows what Helga must be thinking and, excusing himself from the table, rushes through the restaurant to try and catch her. He runs out the door and scans the sidewalk in both directions for her but he is too late. By the time he’s made it outside she’s already blended into the crowd and has disappeared. 

“Dammit!” He thinks to himself as he makes his way back to his table where Amanda sits waiting for him with a look of confusion on her face.

“What’s going on, Gerald? Who was that woman?” She questions.

Rubbing his forehead he shakes his head. “No one, don’t worry about it. She’s just………. someone I know.”

He looks at his watch and signals the waiter for their check. “I should be getting back home, I’m, um, spending the holiday with family and I still have some things I need to get done before tomorrow.”

Upset with this mystery woman, and blaming her for Gerald cutting their lunch short, Amanda makes a mental note to find out just who she is and how she knows Gerald. 

xxxxx

By the time Helga makes it back to the boarding house her anger has grown to a point where she can barely contain it within her. Saying her good-byes to Olga she storms up the steps and through the front door. Looking for Arnold, she finds him in the kitchen making a sandwich. Turning to see her in the doorway, he gives her a big smile.

“Helga! I didn’t expect you to be home so early, I thought you’d be gone for lunch.”

He walks up to her and gives her a big hug. From her demeanor he realizes something is up.

“Hey, you look upset. What’s wrong?”

She looks him in directly in the eye.

“Wrong? I’ll show you what’s wrong.” She takes out her phone and pulls up the pictures she took at the restaurant.

“Tell me who you see in these pictures.”

Arnold takes her phone and scans the pictures. The first one shows two people engaged in what looks like pleasant conversation. The next picture has been zoomed in and upon looking at it Arnold’s stomach does a flip.

“Okay, Helga, I know what you’re thinking but I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for this.”

“Oh is there now? And what would that be?”

“I don’t know but you can’t just go assuming, after all, there’s nothing more incriminating here than just two people enjoying a meal together.”

“Okay, so tell me, who is that in the picture with Gerald, hmmm?”

“Well……that’s……A-Amanda.”

“Amanda the man eater?” 

“I never called her a man eater. She’s just a little………forward is all.”

“Come on, Arnold, why are you still making excuses for him? Look at them, the evidence is right there in front of you.”

“Helga, what do you plan on doing with those pictures? You are NOT going to send them to Phoebe are you?” Arnold asks as she grabs her phone from his hands.

“Why shouldn’t I? Don’t you think she’d want to know?”

Arnold glares at Helga and points a finger at her. “I’m telling you, Helga, stay out of this. You’ll only make matters worse.”

“Why are you protecting him? Is this a part of that ‘Bro Code’ you guys always talk about? You gotta protect a Bro no matter what?”

“No, Helga, it’s not part of any ‘code’. It’s just that I know Gerald and I know he would never cheat on Phoebe.”

“Then what was he doing out at a restaurant with another woman?”

“I don’t know but I think we owe him the opportunity to explain himself. If it will make you happy I’ll talk to him, okay?”

Helga’s hands are on her hips as she glares at Arnold. “When?”

Arnold is trying very hard not to shout. “Next time I see him. Now just drop it, will ya! I’m not going to get in a fight with you over this.”

Helga starts to say something back when there’s a knock at the front door. She looks at Arnold, shoving her index finger in his face.

“This conversation isn’t over Bucko.” She says before turning to answer the door. Arnold follows close behind her. 

A second, more pronounced knock comes from the other side of the door.

“I’m coming, I’m coming, keep your shirt on!” Helga yells as she swings the door open, revealing Gerald on the other side.

With his arms held straight at his sides, his hands clenched in tight fists, he looks at the shocked couple. He gives them each a quick nod of his head and speaking very carefully he says, “Arnold, Helga, we need to talk.”


	34. Chapter 34

Helga starts to say something when she feels Arnold's hands grab on to her upper arms from behind. Moving her aside he steps in front of her and offers his fist to Gerald for their childhood handshake. Gerald returns the gesture, his anger lessening a bit. Arnold steps aside to let Gerald in.

“Come on in Gerald.” Arnold says, still keeping himself between his best friend and his wife.

Gerald gives a quiet “Thanks man,” as he walks to the family room.

Arnold follows him with Helga trailing closely behind. Once in the family room Helga opens her mouth to say something but a stern look from Arnold shuts her up. Crossing her arms in front of her she plops down on the couch as she continues to glare at Gerald. Arnold motions for Gerald to take a seat in the recliner as he sits down next to Helga.

Arnold starts the conversation. “So, uh, it’s good to see you, what brings you by?” 

Gerald looks at Helga. “I – I just thought I’d stop by for a little chat before my flight to California.”

“Oh, so you’re still going to go see Phoebe?” Helga questions, a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

Gerald’s anger starts to creep back. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I still be going?”

Helga rolls her eyes to the ceiling then back to Gerald as she speaks. “Ohh, I don’t know. Perhaps you’ve found other things to keep your attentions here in Hillwood?”

Arnold places a hand on Helga’s thigh and squeezes, he gives her a warning glare. “Helga….”

Gerald keeps his stare on Helga. “That’s what I want to talk about. You didn’t see what you thought you saw, Helga.”

“And just what did I see?” Her voice becomes hard.

“What you SAW was just two friends having a bite to eat together. Nothing else.”

“You looked pretty chummy for just being ‘friends’. Come on, Gerald, spill it. What’s going on between the two of you?” Helga’s determined now to make Gerald spill the beans.

Before Gerald can answer Arnold speaks up. “Listen, Gerald, you don’t have to say anything you don’t want to.” He looks at Helga. “This is none of our business.”

Helga jumps up as she shouts, “But this IS our business! Phoebe is my best friend.” She takes a step towards Gerald. “If you’re doing anything, and I mean anything, to hurt her so help me God I’ll….”

Gerald stands and takes a step towards Helga, matching her glare. “You’ll do what? Huh, Helga? What will you do? Will you bring out Old Betsy and the Five Avengers? Will you pound me into the ground? Will you make mincemeat out of me? Come on, we’re not nine anymore.” He is furious as he hovers over Helga. 

Helga’s face turns red as her anger builds. “No, Geraldo, but I will make your life a living Hell if you’re doing anything behind Phoebe’s back.”

Gerald can see the fury in Helga’s eyes and realizes that she means what she says. He looks over to Arnold who only stares back with questioning eyes. Giving up, Gerald decides to come clean to his two best friends. He sits back down in the recliner, with his elbows on his knees, he holds his face in his hands. He starts slowly, at first his words are barely a whisper. As he continues to talk he searches their faces for understanding.

“I don’t know what happened, I don’t know how I let myself get into this mess. I love Phoebe, you guys know that. I’ve loved her since we were kids. But…….I don’t know. This separation between us has been hard. There have been nights where I’ve just felt so - lonely.”

He sits back in the chair now looking off into space as he continues to talk.

“Amanda started working at the school the first week of your family leave. I was sitting in the teacher’s lounge one afternoon eating lunch by myself when she came walking in. We started talking and hit it off.”

He looks at Arnold. “I know you don’t like her, and yes, she can be a little forward, but she’s not the man eater you make her out to be.”

“I don’t know.” Helga breaks in. “Pouncing on a guy when he’s weak, sounds man eaterish to me.”

Gerald gives her an annoyed look. “She didn’t pounce on me. I - may have led her on a bit.”

“Have you told her about Phoebe?” Arnold asked.

A guilty look comes over Gerald’s face. “No.”

“Why not!” Helga blurts out.

“Because I was liking the attention I was getting from her!” Gerald says this more as an admission to himself than to Helga.

Helga being Helga, she was tired of beating around the bush and decided to just come out with the question that was hanging in the air.

“Cut to the chase, Geraldo, did you sleep with her?”

“Helga!” Arnold shouts, embarrassed for his friend. “That’s none of your business.” He turns to Gerald. “I’m sorry man.”

Gerald shakes his head at Arnold. “No, that’s okay, I know that’s what she’s thinking.”

“Well?” Helga says.

“No, I haven’t slept with her.”

“Yet?” Helga asks with a raise of an eyebrow.

“No!” Gerald yells back at her. “There’s no ‘yet’. I’ll be honest, I did think about it, but I’m not that big of a jerk. I’d never do that to Phoebe.”

“But you would date someone else behind her back?”

Arnold has had about enough of Helga’s treatment of Gerald. “Helga, back off and let him finish.”

“We’re not dating.” Gerald says, breaking in. “We’ve just had a few dinners and lunch today, and the only reason we stopped for lunch was because I went downtown shopping with her for something to do and we got hungry.”

“A few dinners and a lunch, huh? Sounds like dates if you ask me.” Helga scoffs.

Losing his temper Gerald slams his fist down on the arm of the recliner and stands up. “Well, no one asked you, did they?” He yells at her.

Arnold gets up and stands in front of Helga. Putting a hand on Gerald’s shoulder he gently guides him back down to his seat. “Alright, lets’ calm down here.”

Gerald plops back down in the chair, Helga’s accusing eyes never leaving him. Arnold does his best now to try and understand just where Gerald is coming from.

“So there’s nothing physical going on between you two?” Arnold asks, mostly just to satisfy Helga.

“No. Well, no, not really.” He quickly looks Arnold in the eye before dropping his gaze.

“There was one night. It was after one of our dinners out. We had split a bottle of wine at dinner, then afterwards we went back to her apartment for a nightcap – or two. We were sitting on her couch when out of the blue she leaned in and kissed me. I was shocked at first, but I was also a little drunk so instead of pulling away, I kissed her back.”

The remorse was evident on his face.

“Things started to heat up but luckily I caught myself before it went too far and I stopped. I left the apartment right afterwards.”

Gerald turns to Helga now and gives her a pleading look. “I swear, Helga, I never planned on any of this happening and I would never intentionally hurt Phoebe. You have to believe me.”

Helga searches Gerald’s eyes, trying to read him. What she sees is a man who’s afraid. Afraid of losing that one thing that gives meaning to his life. He does love Phoebe, she’s sure of that, and aside from this one slip up he’s been nothing but faithful to her. Even since before she agreed to be his girlfriend he only had eyes for her. He says it was the loneliness that clouded his judgement, and she is no stranger to loneliness. All those years when she was pining away for Arnold, so in love, and so alone. 

This newfound common ground she has with Gerald causes her demeanor towards him to soften a bit. “I do believe you, Geraldo, but you know, you have to tell Phoebe, she needs to know. And, you can mark my words, if you don’t tell her, I will.”

Gerald holds his hands up in front of him. “I know, that’s one reason I’m flying down there for Thanksgiving. That and just to be with her if she’ll still have me.”

“What about Amanda?” Arnold asks, “How have you left things with her?”

“I didn’t know what to say to her, so I haven’t told her anything. As far as she’s concerned I’m spending Thanksgiving with my family.”

Arnold shakes his head at his friend. “Dude, this is messed up. Amanda’s going to be pissed off at you when she finds out you have a girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” Helga breaks in, “Phoebe is practically his fiancée! They have talked marriage, remember?”

“That’s true.” Arnold says, looking back at Gerald. 

Gerald is too embarrassed to face his friends so instead he just sits, studying his hands.

After a minute of awkward silence, Arnold places a hand on Gerald’s shoulder. “I don’t envy you your situation, Bro, but whatever happens, I’ll be here for you.”

On the other end of the baby monitor Phillip can be heard as he starts to stir. Helga gets up but addresses Gerald before she leaves the room.

“I want you to know, I don’t condone a thing you’ve done, regardless of the reasons, and, I’m still pissed at you. But, I do hope you can work through this with Phoebe and she doesn’t kick your sorry ass to the curb. I’ve kinda grown accustomed to your stupid face over the years.”

Gerald gives her a small smile. “Thanks, Helga. That means a lot to me.”

She gives his shoulder a brief squeeze before leaving the room to tend to her baby. 

Once she’s out of the room Arnold sits on the couch. “So when’s your flight out?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.”

They sit for a moment in awkward silence.

“You got a ride to the airport?”

“I was just going to Uber it.”

Another moment of silence.

“I can take you if you want.”

“Yeah, sure, that’d be great.”

With his friend’s offer of a ride to the airport, Gerald knew things were going to be okay between them.

xxxxx

The next day, Arnold sits in his car as he waits for Gerald to come out of his apartment building. He runs over the conversation from yesterday. He still has a distrust of Amanda, but in a way he could see how what was going on between her and Gerald was really not her fault. It’s not like Gerald told her about Phoebe and she pursued him anyway. No, this one was all on Gerald. With each omission of the truth, he just dug himself deeper and deeper. Amanda was going to be pissed, there was no doubt to that. He just wondered how Phoebe will take it. They’ve been together for so long, longer than he and Helga have. 

Their attraction for each other goes all the way back to their PS 118 days. He remembers many a time Gerald would make some comment to him about how cute he thought Phoebe was, and how he was going to marry her when they got older. Yeah, he always had a roaming eye when it came to a pretty face, but it never went further than just a passing glance or a raise of an eyebrow. How Gerald could let this situation get so out of hand was way beyond his comprehension. 

Seeing Gerald come out of the apartment, he gives him a quick wave. Once in the car the two exchange their knuckle bump handshake. Since Gerald is only going to be in California for a few days he’s packed everything he’ll need into a small carry on which he’s placed at his feet. The two sit quietly for a few minutes, each wondering how to start.

“Should be nice weather where you’re going.” Arnold says, breaking the ice.

“Yeah, the weather says it’ll be in the high 60’s in San Francisco.” Gerald replies.

“You staying at Phoebe’s?”

“Yeah, if she’ll have me once I tell her………you know.” Gerald stares out the window as a look of sadness fills his face.

Silence takes over the car once again.

Gerald turns towards Arnold now. “I’ve messed up, haven’t I, Arnold?”

Arnold takes his eyes off the road for a brief second to look at his friend. “Yeah, Bro, you have.”

Arnold’s heart breaks a bit for his friend. He wishes there was something he could do to help fix the situation like he would when they were kids. But they’re not kids anymore and it’s not kid’s problems that they’re dealing with. 

Gerald brings his hands to his face, rubbing his forehead with the tips of his fingers. “How could I have been so stupid? Phoebe is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me and what do I do? I throw it all away for a pretty face and tight ass. What’ll I say to her? I don’t even know how to begin.”

Arnold thinks about this for a moment. “Just be upfront and honest. Don’t hold anything back because if she forgives you, then finds out you didn’t tell her everything, you could lose her for good.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Arnold hates to do so, but he brings up another, just as awkward point to Gerald. “You know, as soon as you get back you’ll have to confront Amanda too.”

Gerald rolls his eyes. “Oh, don’t remind me, that’s going to be horrible. She’s going to kill me.”

“She probably will.” Arnold agrees. “Plus, you’re going to be stuck having to see her at work every day too.”

Gerald slaps his forehead with the palm of his hand. “I didn’t even think about that! Oh man, Arnold, I’m screwed.”

Arnold gives a little chuckle. “You most definitely are.”

For the first time since yesterday Gerald cracks a smile. “I’m glad you can find the humor in this.”

Arnold gives Gerald a pat on the back. “That’s what friends are for.” 

They finally arrive at the airport. Arnold swings into the “Departures” lane and pulls up to the white drop off zone. He turns to Gerald.

“Well buddy, good luck. If you need someone to talk to, I’m a phone call away.”

Gerald grabs his carry on and gives Arnold a grateful look. “Thanks, Arnold. You’re a true friend.”

Gerald leaves the car and walks through the automatic doors into the terminal without looking back. Arnold watches him as he disappears inside.

Shaking his head and hoping for the best for his friend, he makes the long drive back to the boarding house, suddenly anxious to be home with his wife.


	35. Chapter 35

Upon boarding the plane, Gerald chooses a window seat about midway towards the back. His hope is that there will be enough empty seats that no one will take the middle one that is next to him, but, with it being a major holiday he has no such luck. Fortunately the two seats next to him are taken up by an elderly couple flying south to visit family and, after a brief conversation on how excited they are to see their five grandchildren, the older couple leave him to his thoughts. 

He spends most of the hour and a half flight staring out the window as he listens to music through his earbuds, only to be interrupted when a stewardess stops by to take drink orders. It’s the middle of the afternoon and he knows he probably should stick to soda but he orders a beer anyway. He slowly nurses his drink as he runs through his head just how he’s going to tell Phoebe what’s been going on. 

He thinks back to when he first met Amanda. Phillip had just been born and seeing his two best friends as new parents had stirred up something deep inside him. It was a feeling of being stagnant as his friends around him kept moving forward with their lives. It had started a few years ago with Rhonda, moving to New York to pursue a modeling career. Next it was Harold and Patty, taking over Green Meats. Then it was Stinky and Lila, starting their farm and making a life for themselves in the country. Hell, even Chocolate Boy had made a name for himself by going off to culinary school and becoming not just a pastry chef, but a master chocolatier. But the final straw was Arnold and Helga, taking the ultimate step forward by becoming parents. 

It was hard for him to admit to himself, but he was jealous of Arnold, and it was even harder for him to sit and watch Arnold and Helga be this perfect little family. Each time he felt that way it wasn’t long for the jealousy to turn to guilt. He knew he had no right begrudging his best friend such a happy life. His mixed feelings caused him to pull away a bit, and he eventually started spending less time around the two of them than normal. 

He tried confiding a little in Arnold, telling him how he felt, but he could tell that Arnold was never going to understand. He also tried letting Phoebe know how he was feeling, but she just kept reminding him of their plan. Med school first, then they could talk marriage. And so he went on, internalizing his feelings and pulling further and further away from his friends. 

After what’s felt like an eternity, the plane finally prepares to make its descent into San Francisco. There’s a damp haze covering the city and it’s colder than he had planned on. He’s glad he decided to bring a heavier jacket with him. As the plane starts to disembark he hangs back in his seat for a bit, trying to give himself as much time as possible to figure out what to say to Phoebe. He receives a questioning look from one of the stewardesses and notices that he is the last one left. Unable to put things off any longer he gets up and, grabbing his carry on from the overhead compartment, heads for the exit. The stewardess smiles as he approaches, giving him the same speech she gives all the passengers.

“Enjoy your stay in California and thank you for flying Southwest Airlines.”

He gives her a small smile and a quick nod of his head in passing.

xxxxx

The butterflies run rampant in his stomach as he makes his way through the terminal. As he approaches the escalator that heads down to the waiting area, he spies Phoebe standing among the crowd. He stops unnoticed for a moment and watches her. Although she’s grown some since their childhood days, she’s still that petite girl he fell in love with. She wears her hair in a short cut that frames her delicate face. For whatever reason, she’s never opted for contacts so she still wears her trademark glasses. She’s dressed in a woolen sweater that hangs down to her knees, under which she wears a pair of formfitting leggings. A pair of ankle boots completes the ensemble. Casting her gaze upwards she sees him watching her from above, a smile immediately covering her face. She frantically waves her hand to him and he smiles as he waves back. 

He’s scared as he takes that first step down on the escalator. Scared of how this weekend could end. He does his best to keep his smile though, not wanting to give himself away just yet. As he steps off she comes running up to him, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing tight. He lifts her, giving her a swing as he buries his face in her hair. She smells of cherry blossom, the familiar scent causing a momentary swoon to come over him. It takes every ounce of strength to keep the tears from forming in his eyes as he holds the embrace just a bit longer than normal. 

She takes a step back and smiles up at him. His eyes scan the delicate features of his porcelain skinned lover. He thinks to himself that she is too good for him and that if she will still have him once this is all over he will spend the rest of his days doing everything he can to make her happy.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” She says giving him another hug, “I’ve missed you so much.”

His arms embrace her as he smiles. Placing his hands to her face he leans in, kissing her deeply.

“Oh, how I’ve missed you.” He says before kissing her again.

She rubs her nose to his and giggles. “And I’ve miss your kisses, but let’s save the rest for the apartment, we need to get going before I have to pay for another hour’s worth of parking.” She points to his carry on. “Is this all you’ve brought?”

“Uh, yeah, since I’m only here for a few days I figured I wouldn’t need much.” He grabs the handle of the small suitcase and wheels it behind him as they walk. 

“This weekend is going to be so much fun, my roommates are gone so we’ll have the whole apartment to ourselves.” The excitement in her voice is evident. “I will need to spend a little time on work but it shouldn’t take too long. I can’t wait to hear about everything that’s been going on at home. You’re going to HAVE to start with Helga and Arnold and that adorable baby!”

“Uh, yeah, he sure is a cutie.” Gerald says, wondering just how long he should delay telling her about everything else that has been going on.

By the time they hit the highway it’s late so they decide to stop for a bite to eat before heading to the apartment. Phoebe picks a small, out of the way bar and grille that’s a favorite with the locals. 

She’s excited to have Gerald there and is anxious to show him how she’s been living since starting med school. “This place has wonderful fish and chips, and some of the best micro beers around. Oh and the warm sourdough bread is out of this world!” 

She watches him as he studies the menu. She’s always found him to be quiet attractive, his smooth, flawless skin, dark and rich and luxurious when held against her. His full, inviting lips that she loves to run her tongue across whenever they kiss. She finally stops at his eyes. They are a dark brown that she can’t help but get lost in every time he looks at her. Normally they sparkle with a mischievous glint, but for some reason tonight they seem to have lost their spark. On the outside he seems to be himself, full of witty conversation and very attentive to her, but when she looks into those eyes, she can’t help but wonder. Knowing how Gerald stresses whenever he has to fly, she chalks it up to that and puts it out of her mind.

They enjoy each other’s company as they eat. Gerald has taken Phoebe’s suggestion and they both have ordered the fish and chips. They enjoy light conversation as they eat, with Gerald filling her in on how things have been going for their two best friends.

“I can’t believe I had to miss out on Phillip’s birth, I just feel awful about it.” Phoebe says for about the fourth time.

“Stop beating yourself up over it babe, they understood why you couldn’t be there, and they don’t resent you for it either. It was just one of those things.”

“I know, but still. Helga’s the best friend I have in the whole world, I just would have liked to have been there. So, is Phillip as cute as the pictures make him out to be?”

“Heh, yeah, even cuter. He’s got this cute little sound he makes when he’s happy, it’s a cross between a coo and a gurgle. It’s pretty adorable.”

“How did they survive that video that got accidentally sent out? Was it awful? Did they take much kidding?”

Gerald lets out a loud laugh at the memory of the video. “Oh, man, yeah, Arnold took quite a bit of ribbing at work over that. He even got called into Dunce’s office. I didn’t envy him that one, but it’s seemed to have blown over now. 

The mention of work reminds Gerald of Amanda and the conversation that he still needs to have with Phoebe and he becomes a bit subdued. Phoebe picks up on the quick change in Gerald’s demeanor. 

“Are you okay, Gerald?” Phoebe asks.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit tired I guess. You know what planes to do me.” He gives her a wink as he pays the dinner bill. 

xxxxx

 

They engage in quiet chit chat as they drive to Phoebe’s place. Phoebe can’t help but get the feeling that Gerald is trying just a bit too hard to sound happy. Once arriving at the apartment Phoebe gives him a quick tour. It’s just a standard two bedroom apartment, so the tour doesn’t take very long. 

She takes Gerald’s bag and wheels it into her bedroom as he makes a pit stop in the bathroom. When he comes out he finds her sitting on the couch. He sits next to her, his heart racing in his chest. She cuddles in close and reaches out, running her fingers down his left cheek. Leaning in she kisses him. Parting his lips with her tongue the kiss deepens. Pressing his lips firmly to hers, he wraps his arms around her and kisses her back as if it’s their last. He savors the taste of her, and the feel of her body against his. All the days he’s spent missing her comes out in that one kiss. He doesn’t want to break it because he’s afraid that if he does he will lose her and he can’t bear the thought of life without her. 

Eventually she pulls away, breaking the kiss. They are both out of breath and as she looks into his eyes she is surprised to find tears there.

“Gerald?” She questions softly, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, Phoebe.” He whispers back, his words laden with shame. “I – I’m so sorry.”

She knew something was up with him, you don’t devote your life to someone as long as she has to him without getting to know them. Her gaze becomes hardened.

“What’s up Gerald, what’s going on?”

“I have something to tell you, but before I do, you have to believe me when I tell you that I love you more than anything and I want nothing more but for us to be together for the rest of our lives. I – I can’t imagine life without you.”

Phoebe’s voice is low and demanding. “Who is she?”

Gerald takes a deep breath as he begins to tell Phoebe everything. He starts with his feelings of loneliness, then tells her of how he felt his life just slipping away before him as everyone else moved forward. He tells her how, in a moment of weakness, he turned to Amanda to fill the void he was feeling. He assured her over and over that Amanda meant nothing to him. He made it perfectly clear that they did not sleep together although Phoebe made him admit that at one point the thought briefly crossed his mind but he swore it was the alcohol and nothing else that led him to think that way. 

Phoebe wondered how all this could be going on yet no one thought to clue her in, not even her best friend. 

“Did Helga know this was going on?” She asked, a bit hurt that her friend would keep something like this from her and not have her back.

“No, no one knew. Helga didn’t find out until yesterday, when she saw us at the restaurant. She threatened to go to you but I begged her to let me talk to you first. She made me promise to tell you everything.” 

Arms crossed in front of her, Phoebe looks him in the eye. “And have you?”

He meets her eye for a brief second before dropping his gaze. “Yes, that’s everything. Please believe me, Phoebe, I………”

“Just stop it, Gerald, enough with the “I’m sorries.” I – I need some time to think.”

“Do you want me to go?” He says, his eyes pleading for her to tell him to stay.

“Do I want you to go? Yes, I do, but I won’t make you go. I won’t turn you out into a strange city late at night. You can sleep on the couch if you want, but I don’t want to hear or see you for the rest of the night.”

“Okay, thank you Pheebs.” He takes a step towards her and lifts a hand to her face. She dodges his touch and turns, heading towards her bedroom. She places his suitcase outside of her room before closing the door. Laying on her bed, she buries her face in her pillow, muffling her sobs as they escape her.

Gerald spends an uncomfortable night on a couch that is about five inches too short for his 6’2” frame. He only sleeps for about an hour or two at a time before being woken up as different parts of his body cramp up. By around 6 AM he gives up on sleep and sits up. Turning on the TV he flips through the channels trying to find something to keep his attention. He stares at Phoebe’s bedroom door, wishing he was with her on the other side of it. 

He knows that when she wakes up she has every right to kick him out and not take him back, but he prays that that doesn’t happen. He’s learned a hard lesson from this, one that he will carry with him for the rest of his days. 

As time passes he comes across the annual Thanksgiving Day parade that they hold every year in New York. He watches as the larger than life balloons get pulled down the street. He looks at all the happy faces of the people in the crowd, and listens to the scripted banter of the show’s hosts. He marvels at how life goes on as normal for those out there as his slowly crumbles around him. 

Regardless of Phoebe’s answer to him, he still has Amanda to deal with once he’s back home. She’s not the type of person he can see himself spending his life with so even if Phoebe doesn’t take him back he’d still have to break it off with her. Not that she’d even want him once she finds out that he wasn’t being honest with her. It’s crazy how one little mistake can mess up so many lives. 

He thinks about Arnold and Helga. He’s grateful for them sticking by his side. Especially Helga, although, he wonders how supportive of him she’ll be if Phoebe doesn’t take him back. 

He hears movement behind Phoebe’s door, and a few seconds later it opens revealing her on the other side. She passes him with a brief “good morning” as she heads to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. He gets up and joins her. 

He looks at her and gives her a timid hello.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?” He asks.

“I slept okay, considering.” She replies

She pulls a couple of mugs from the cabinet and places them on the table. She gets out the milk and sugar, remembering how Gerald likes his coffee. Walking back to the fridge she pulls out a carton of eggs.

“You hungry?” She asks.

“Yeah, I could eat something.” 

When the coffee is done brewing he pours them both a mug. Handing her one he looks into her eyes and sees the pain he’s caused. “Phoebe……….”

She turns, not letting him finish. “Is scrambled okay?”

Slumping his shoulders, he just says, “Yeah, that’s fine.”

They eat in silence until he can’t take it anymore. Putting down his fork he takes her hand.

“Phoebe, talk to me, please.” He begs.

“What do you want me to say? That all’s forgiven? That boys will be boys? This is not something that can be solved with a good night’s sleep. I do think we need to talk though. We need to figure this out, to see if what we have is worth saving.”

“Yes it’s worth saving!” Gerald all but yells. “Phoebe, I messed up big time, I know that and if I could go back and undo it I would. I love you Phoebe. I’ve never stopped loving you.”

“I love you too, Gerald. That’s not the problem. What is the problem is how do I know that I can trust you?” She begins to cry. “I trusted you, Gerald. I gave myself to you, trusting that you would never hurt me.”

He walks over to her. Taking her hands he pulls her up and wraps his arms around her. She buries her face in his chest and sobs and it breaks his heart.

“I’m so, so, sorry, Phoebe, and I will do anything to earn back your trust, I swear to you I will.” 

Stepping back, she wipes her eyes and looks up to him. “It’s not going to happen overnight, Gerald. This is something you’re going to have to earn. There’s still a lot to discuss.”

“I understand.” He says to her as he sits back down.

They spend the rest of his trip doing their best to keep their relationship from derailing completely. By the time Sunday comes they are both exhausted as they say their good-byes. She drops him off at the airport and just like before, he sits alone by the window listening to his music, wondering how he could make such a mess of things.


	36. Chapter 36

Thanksgiving morning has come and Helga is dying to know how things are going in California. Throwing her arms up in the air, she brings up the topic once again.

“Come on, Arnoldo, aren’t you even the least bit curious as to how things are going?”

Arnold sits feeding Phillip a bottle as Helga paces the floor. “Yes, of course I am, but we need to give them their space. I’m sure one of them will get in touch with us when they’re ready. Now calm down.”

Plopping down on the couch she throws her feet up on the coffee table. “Ugh, sometimes your calmness drives me crazy.” 

“Well someone has to be the voice of reason between us. Besides, think of it as no news is good news. Maybe they’re too busy getting busy to call us, if you catch my drift.” He raises his eyebrows a few times on the last part of his sentence.

“God, you’re such a cornball. Well, if we’re going to make it to Olga’s in time I’d better get dressed.” She gets up from the couch and heads out of the room.

Arnold holds Phillip up to his shoulder to burp him, softly patting his back. 

“You don’t think your daddy’s a cornball, do you Phillip?” 

Phillip gives a loud burp which Arnold takes as a no. “That’s my boy!” He says, kissing the top of his son’s head.

Twenty minutes later Helga bounces down the stairs, fully loaded diaper bag in tow. 

“Hey Arnoldo!” She yells as she heads towards the kitchen, “You want to strap Phillip into his carrier while I grab the food from the kitchen?”

Although this was Olga’s traditional Thanksgiving feast they were going to, Helga still wanted to contribute something to the meal so she offered one of the few items she knew she could pull off. Walking to the fridge she pulls out a large bowl filled with a salad, and three different bottles of dressing. She also grabbed two bags of dinner rolls. 

With food in hand and Phillip secure in his carrier they head to the car. Strapping Phillip in, they head over to Olga’s, the conversation turning once again to Gerald and Phoebe.

“I really hope they can work things out.” Helga says.

“Yeah, it would be really sad if they break up over this. I mean, I know Gerald, he’s been my best friend for years. I know how full of regret he is.”

Helga pulls out her phone. “Can’t I just send her a really quick text? Just to see how things are going?”

“No.” Arnold is adamant. “Give them their space. They really need to work this out without anyone sticking their nose into it.”

“But….”

“No buts. Once Gerald is back on the plane, then you can call Phoebe. I’m sure she’s going to need a shoulder to lean on.”

“That damn Gerald, why’d he have to go and do something so stupid?” Helga thinks out loud, trying to gain some understanding of the situation.

“Who knows?” Arnold answers. “You never know what goes on in people’s minds when they’re lonely.”

“I wonder if she had any clue that something was up, I mean, he pulled away from you. I wonder if he started pulling away from Phoebe too. Damn, I wish I had talked to her more often after having Phillip.”

“Quit beating yourself up over this, you can’t change the past. The both of you were busy with your own stuff. All you can do is be there to support her when she needs it.”

Finally reaching the Dunsmuir residence, Arnold parks in the large, circular driveway. Big Bob’s Hummer is already there, letting them know that they are, as usual, late. Helga gets out, bringing the food with her as Arnold grabs Phillip’s carrier. Walking to the door they ring the bell and are immediately greeted by Big Bob as he swings the door open.

“It’s about time you three showed up!” Bob says as he pulls Helga inside. He greets Arnold with a hearty handshake.

“Arnold, my boy, glad to see you. Now where’s that grandson of mine?” 

Taking the carrier from Arnold, Bob disappears into the formal living room where Miriam sits talking to Olga. Seeing that Bob has Phillip, Miriam claps her hands in front of her chest and busts out a huge smile.

“Well there’s our little man.” She says as she unclips Phillip from his carrier. She picks him up and with being passed around from one family member to another, that’s the last time Phillip has to sit in his carrier until naptime. 

The change that has come over both Big Bob and Miriam after Phillip was born is just short of a miracle. The day Little Phil was born and Miriam held him in her arms for the first time she doubled up on her vow to herself that she would no longer spend her days in an alcoholic haze. She swore she’d be the best grandmother she could be. Although it was rough at first and she found herself taking a step backwards more than once, for the last month she’s been true to her word. Helga still isn’t convinced 100%, and watches Miriam’s eyes very carefully before leaving the child with her. If there’s not a clarity there she won’t leave him, regardless of whether Bob is there or not. Miriam understands Helga’s reluctance and doesn’t blame her one bit.

For Bob it was more of finally accepting Arnold as a member of the family. He’s even gone so far as to hold him in almost as high of esteem as he does Samuel. Helga wonders if Bob’s affections towards Arnold would still be as high if they had given birth to a girl instead of a boy, but she guesses that they’ll never really know. 

The topper, though, on this whole new family dynamic, is mostly due to the vow that Helga made before having Phillip. She vowed that her children would not grow up in the dysfunction that she did and she is doing what she can to see it through. She’s gotten to know Olga better and in doing so now has the type of sister she’s always wanted. 

She gets along better with her parents now too, and with her and Bob not spending so much time fighting they are slowly building a stronger father/daughter relationship. 

Helga’s even gone so far as to give Samuel a chance and he is turning out not to be the pompous douchebag she first pegged him for. She’s learning that it’s really quite amazing the types of relationships you can build with people if you just give them a chance. 

Of course, Arnold has had a big hand in this too with his constant urgings of Helga to lighten up. This isn’t something that just started with Phillip too. From the moment the two became a couple his easygoing demeanor and overall kindness towards others has slowly rubbed off on her, dulling her sharp edges. Yes, she could still be headstrong and a bit harsh at times, but he has somehow developed some sort of a hold over her throughout the years. There’s a saying by the author William Congreve that goes, “Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast”. In this case, Arnold is the music to Helga’s beast. 

It may have taken a full 25 years, but, slowly, Helga is finally getting the life she’s always deserved. She sits now among those she calls her family, wine glass in hand, finally having something to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving. 

Calling everyone to dinner, Samuel leads them into the dining room. What stands before them is something that looks like it came straight from the pages of Home and Garden Magazine. The large table is set with sparkling crystal and china. The handmade tablecloth and runner match perfectly with the chair backs Olga made. There is a beautiful centerpiece of fall flowers flanked on either side with tall candles. Sitting at the head of the table is a large, perfectly roasted turkey. Along with the turkey Olga has baked a delicious looking holiday ham. There are three different types of potato dishes, corn, green beans and peas. Helga’s salad and dinner rolls also adorn the table. There is stuffing and cranberry sauce and gravy. Stashed away in the kitchen for later are three kinds of pie and two types of cake.

Helga can never figure out just how Olga is able to pull something like this off every year. As they sit down to eat Miriam makes everyone take turns saying what they are thankful for. It’s no coincidence that Phillip is the unanimous choice of everyone this year as they all raise a glass in toast.

“To Phillip!” Samuel toasts.

“To Phillip!” Come shouts from the rest of the family.

xxxxx

 

By the end of the meal everyone gathers in the living room, stuffed and barely able to move. Helga sits on the couch, close to Arnold, leaning against him. Samuel sits in a large overstuffed chair as Olga sits on the arm rest with her arm draped across the back of the chair. Miriam and Bob sit close together on the loveseat, Phillip stretched out on his back across Miriam’s lap. The two grandparents coo and coddle their grandson as he coos back. 

The hour starts to grow late and Helga thinks it about time to get Phillip home and in his own bed. Olga rushes to fix them some leftovers to take back to the boarding house as they say their good-byes to Miriam and Bob. Arnold shakes Samuel’s hand, thanking him for such a nice time. As Olga hands Helga a large bag of leftovers they give each other a big hug, making plans to get together again real soon.

Phillip falls asleep in the car on the way home, his breathing steady and peaceful. Helga is glad that she thought ahead and put him in jammies and a clean diaper before leaving Olga’s. Once home Arnold takes Phillip upstairs, while Helga puts away the food. Walking into the bedroom she looks for Little Phil in his bassinet and is surprised to see he is not there. 

“Arnold, why is Phillip in his crib again and not in his bassinet?”

“Well, I figured that he did so well the other night in his crib, that there’s no reason he can’t start sleeping in it every night.” 

He walks up to her and wraps his arms around her waist. “Besides, now that “things” between us are back to normal, I’d feel too weird shagging my wife in front of our kid.”

He bites her neck as she lets out a giggle.

“Oh? And you think there’s going to be some shagging going on tonight?”

He gives her a nod of his head. “Oh most definitely, we still have three months to make up for, you know.”

He kisses her as his hands slip under her top. Sliding them up, he removes her top, dropping it to the floor. She gives him a quizzical look.

“Just how long do you think it’s going to take to make up those lost three months?”

He starts covering her face in kisses. Between each kiss he says, “Oh, - you never know,- it could take - years.”

“Well,” She says as she unbuttons his shirt, “Then I guess we’d better get started.”

 

xxxxx

Sunday comes, signaling the end of the long holiday break. Arnold drives out to the airport to pick up Gerald. He circles the terminal a few times before seeing his friend as he comes out of the building. Gerald wears a blank expression on his face as he works his way through the crowd, and it’s hard for Arnold to tell what kind of mood he’s in. 

Gerald spots Arnold’s Packard and walks over to the car as Arnold reaches over and unlocks the passenger side door. As Gerald slips into his seat they greet each other with a bump of their knuckles. 

“Hey,” Arnold says, wondering how much Gerald is going to feel like talking. “How was your flight?”

“Eh, uneventful.” Gerald says with a shrug of his shoulders.

It’s quiet for a while, the elephant in the room growing larger by the minute. Finally Arnold speaks up.

“So, how’d it go?”

Gerald looks out the window, giving a second shrug of his shoulders.

“Not too good, but not too horrible either. She didn’t throw me out on my ass at least.”

“Well, that’s hopeful, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Arnold decides to press a little further.

“So are you still together?”

Through a sigh Gerald gives the best answer to the question as he can.

“Yes, sort of. We’re not officially broken up, but she says she needs time to think. I broke her trust, Arnold, and I have to earn it back. She says until she can come to a place where she feels she can trust me again she thinks it best if we take a little break.”

Arnold feels bad for his friend, but doesn’t blame Phoebe for her decision.

“That’s rough, Bro, but maybe it’s for the best. It will give you both time to think.”

“That’s the problem, Arnold, I already have too much time to myself to ‘think’.”

Arnold does his best to be supportive. “You know, you’re welcome at our place any time you start to feel alone or anything. Helga and I are both here for you.” 

“I know, man, and I appreciate it.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“What can I do but keep my distance and wait for her to contact me.”

Struggling for something profound to say, all Arnold can come up with is a lame, “Yeah, I guess so.”

xxxx

As soon as she’s dropped Gerald off at the airport, Phoebe decides to give Helga a call. Having just put Phillip down for a nap, Helga sits in the living room awaiting Arnold’s return when her phone goes off. Seeing its Phoebe, she quickly answers it.

“Phoebe! I’ve been dying to hear from you, I wanted to call but Arnold insisted it’d be better to wait for you to call me. How are you doing? Are you okay?”

There’s a brief moment of silence on the other end as Phoebe calms herself as she fights back the tears.

“I guess I’m doing okay, considering. The situation just totally hit me from behind. I was a mess at first but I’m doing better.”

“I’m just so sorry, Pheebs, I feel like I let you down. I told you I would keep an eye on things while you were away and I totally blew it.”

“It’s not your fault, Helga. Gerald deceived everyone. You had no way of knowing.”

“Yeah, but still. Well you can be sure as hell that I’ll be watching him like a hawk from now on. So, did he tell you everything?”

“Well, he said he did, but you tell me what you know.”

Helga takes the next few minutes filling Phoebe in on everything she knows, starting with Arnold’s first mention of Amanda and ending with Gerald’s visit to their home.

“Yeah,” Phoebe finally says, “That’s everything he told me. So I guess he was telling the truth there.”

“So what are you going to do now?” Helga asks her friend.

“I’m going to think very long and hard on the situation before making up my mind. I do still love him, Helga.”

“I know, and he loves you too, very much so. You know, and I’m not condoning Gerald’s actions, but, he is only human, and everyone makes mistakes and deserves a second chance. And in Gerald’s case I’m truly certain that he’s sorry and I doubt he’ll ever do anything like that again.”

Phoebe can’t help but chuckle. “Ha, it sounds like a little bit of Arnold’s rubbed off on you over the years.”

“Ha, ha, yeah, maybe, but I do mean what I say. Are you still coming up for Christmas?”

“Yeah. I was going to stay at Gerald’s apartment, but I may just stay at my parent’s place instead. But I am still coming.”

“That’s great, I’m dying to see you. You know, you can always stay at the boarding house too if you want.”

“Thanks for the offer, I just may take you up on it for a night or two. I’d love to spend some quality time with that adorable baby of yours. Well, I’m home now, I’ll talk to you again soon. Bye, Helga, and thanks for the support.”

“Okay, bye Pheebs, and don’t mention it, that’s what friends are for.”

Hanging up Helga can’t help but feel a bit of sorrow for her friend. Phoebe has a hard decision to make. As she sits running their conversation through her mind she hears the front door open. Getting up she runs to great her husband, throwing her arms around him. 

Looking him in the eye she says, “Have I ever told you how truly thankful I am for you?”

Smiling down at her he says, “That’s funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you.”


	37. Chapter 37

Sitting alone in his apartment Gerald empties his small carry on, throwing his dirty clothes into the laundry basket. He sits on his bed and picks up a framed photo of him and Phoebe. It was taken on the day of Arnold and Helga’s wedding. The pair had stood up as witnesses for their two friends, him as Arnold’s best man, and Phoebe as Helga’s maid of honor. He looks at their faces. What stares back at him are two people, young and full of love. Blissfully ignorant of the pressures that await them just a few years down the road. 

Everyone scoffed at Arnold and Helga when they made the decision to marry so young but now, now he can’t help but wonder if they had it right all along. Determined not to put time and distance between them, so positive that their love would survive their youth. Could he and Phoebe have survived getting married at such a young age? 

He hates it when he second guesses himself. When all the “What If’s” come out. What if he and Phoebe had gotten married at 18 too? What if, instead of deciding to stay in Hillwood, he took a teaching job closer to Phoebe? The problem with “What If’s” though, is that they bring up a lot of questions, but never any of the answers. 

Putting the picture down, he picks up his phone, thinking of an excuse to call her. Would she hold it against him if he broke his no calling promise to make sure that she made it home safely from the airport? No. Knowing Phoebe, she’d see right through that lame excuse. 

He’s startled from his thoughts as his phone starts to ring. He can tell by the ringtone that it’s Amanda and he winces. He’s been avoiding her all weekend and he’s still not ready to face her yet so he lets the call go to voice mail. Once he gets the notification that he has a message he picks it up. At first her messages were light and pleasant. “Hey, Babe, just calling to see how you’re surviving Thanksgiving with your family.” Now, though, the messages are not quite so friendly. Bracing himself, he clicks into the message.

“Okay, Gerald, what’s up? Why are you avoiding me? I’ve been calling you all weekend. I’m about ready to look up your parent’s number in the phone book and call their house. I swear, Gerald, call me back, or else!”

“Oh, God.” He thinks to himself. He knows he’s avoided her as long as he can. Work starts back up tomorrow and there will be no getting away from her there. He figures he’d better at least call her so she doesn’t bombard him in the teacher’s lounge in the morning. Steeling himself, he gives her a call. She answers on the first ring.

“It’s about time you got back to me! Where have you been?”

“Well, hello to you too.” He says, a bit perturbed at being verbally assaulted. “I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you, I was, uh, busy with family. You know how it goes.”

“Too busy to even shoot me a quick text?”

“Yeah, well I’m sorry about that.”

“Well, did you at least miss me at all?”

“Yeah, sure, sure I did. How was your holiday? Did you go visit your parents like you were thinking of doing?”

“Yes, and it took all of one day. So, just how did you spend YOUR weekend?”

“Yeah, my weekend. You know, Amanda, about that. We need to talk. How about we meet after work, we can go to O’Shay’s for drinks.”

“Well, I guess I can do that. Do you want to meet there, or drive together?”

“I’ll meet you there, how’s 4:00?”

“Okay, 4:00 at O’Shay’s. Oh, and Gerald.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t stand me up.”

Through a gulp Gerald gives a quiet, “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

 

xxxxx

Gerald arrives at school the next morning before Arnold. Letting himself into friend’s office, he sits and waits for him, hoping he gets there before classes start. He nervously looks out the window, watching for Amanda’s car.

Arriving at school, Arnold is intercepted by a couple of members of his fan club before he can make it into the teacher’s lounge for his morning coffee.

“Good morning Mr. Shortman.” Giggles a doe eyed sophomore. “How was your break?”

He recognizes the girl and gives her a smile. “Well, good morning Brianne, my break was great, thanks. How about you? Do anything fun?”

The girl practically swoons as she answers. “Yeah, my whole family went skiing over the holiday. It was a lot of fun. Do you ski?”

“Well, I can, but I prefer snowboarding.” He decides to really make her day and gives her a little wink.

Totally enamored now the second girl, who’s’ name escapes Arnold, speaks up through a sigh. “Oh, I bet you’re an excellent snowboarder, Mr. Shortman.”

“Eh, I do alright. You girls have a good day now, okay.” 

They wave and smile at Arnold as he walks away and speak in unison. “Okay, Mr. Shortman, you too.” Turning to each other they give a little fangirl squeal as they head to tell their soon to be jealous friends of their conversation.

Once inside the small teacher’s lounge Arnold is once again intercepted in his quest for coffee. This time by none other than Ms Pearson herself.

“Arnold!” She says, her smile a little too friendly. “Good morning!”

She makes her way over to him, standing a little too close for his comfort.

“Uh, hey there, Amanda. How are you this morning?” He says as he takes a step backwards.

Closing the gap Amanda moves in a little closer, “I’m just fine. How’s that adorable baby of yours, and your wife, um, what’s her name again?”

It didn’t take long for Arnold to become annoyed with the woman. “Helga, her name is Helga.”

“Oh, right, Helga. An unusual name don’t you think?”

“Well, she’s not like most people, which is one of the bigger reasons why I love her.” Arnold hopes he’s getting his message across to the obnoxious teacher. Grabbing his coffee, he excuses himself and heads out the door.

“It was nice seeing you, Amanda. You have a good day.”

“You too, Arnold. Perhaps I’ll see you at lunch.”

With his back to Amanda he rolls his eyes as he leaves the room. Happy to be free of her he makes his way to his office. As he walks in he’s surprised to see Gerald waiting for him.

“Hey, Gerald, what brings you around?”

“Hey, Arnold. I’m just laying low until classes start. You didn’t happen to see Amanda have you?”

“Yeah, as a matter of fact I did. She cornered me in the teacher’s lounge.”

“How was she? Did she seem mad or agitated?”

“No, on the contrary, she was her normal, annoying self. You know, you can’t avoid her all day.”

“I know, I know. Hey, you’ve got to do me a solid and have lunch with me today. I’m seeing her after school to talk to her and I’m hoping to avoid her until then.”

“Oh yeah, where are you meeting her?”

“I told her to meet me at O’Shay’s.”

“A bar! You’re meeting her at a bar! Are you sure that’s such a good idea?”

“Well, that’s where we’d usually meet up and I didn’t want to seem suspicious. She already thinks something’s up.”

“But a bar? Do NOT start drinking before you see her.”

The bell finally rings, signaling the start of first period.

“Don’t worry, Arnold, I won’t. So, meet me in the parking lot at first lunch?”

“Sure, Gerald, whatever you say.”

“Thanks, Arnold, you’re a true friend.”

Looking both ways before entering the hallway, Gerald hurries off to class.

xxxxx

 

The day goes by rather uneventfully. With Arnold’s help, Gerald is able to avoid running into Amanda. He waits for her now in a back booth at the local bar. It’s crowded and he’s hoping that will hinder Amanda from making any sort of a scene. He sips on a beer as he nervously watches the door, running what he’s going to say over and over in his head. After twenty minutes he sees Amanda as she walks through the door. He gives her a little wave, signaling her over.

She’s taken off the blazer she wore during school hours to reveal a hot pink, low cut blouse. Combined with the tight skirt she’s wearing she elicits a few drunken stares as she saunters through the bar. Ever the gentleman, Gerald stands as she approaches and motions for her to sit across from him in their booth. Purposely leaning forward as she sits, her blouse hangs away from her chest, revealing a lace covered bra in the same pink as her blouse. Gerald gives a strangled gulp as he quickly looks away. She notices this and gives a little smirk.

Clearing his throat Gerald tries his best to speak. “So, can I order you a drink?”

She locks her eyes on to his. “Sure, a white wine is fine. For now.”

Calling over the waitress, Gerald orders a glass of wine and another beer for himself. When the drinks come he finally brings up the reason for the meeting.

“So, um, Amanda. I kinda have something I need to tell you.” He watches as her expression hardens.

“Oh, and what might that be?” Her eyes become steely as she watches his face.

“Well, it seems that I haven’t really been completely honest with you.”

“Go on.”

“Yeah, well, I, uh, I didn’t spend Thanksgiving with my family like I said I was.”

She sits back in her seat now, her arms crossed in front of her. 

“No? So tell me, just where were you then?”

“I was in California. Visiting my – uh – girlfriend. Well, she’s more than a girlfriend, we’re, uh, practically engaged.”

“So she’s your fiancée then?”

“Well, not officially, but we are, uh or were, uh. We’re in a serious relationship.

He can see the anger build on Amanda’s face as he tries to come up with any excuse that would explain his situation.

“So all this time you were with me, you had a fiancée?”

Gerald searches for something to say. “Well………I, uh.”

“Well, you, uh what? What, Gerald? Why would you just lead me on like that?”

“I don’t know, I was going through a rough time. I was feeling lonely. Then I met you, and you were so friendly, and you gave me the attention I was craving. I’m so sorry, Amanda.”

“So what happened to make you all of a sudden come to your senses and go running to your little fiancée? Did the guilt become too much for you?”

“No, well, yeah, I was feeling guilty. I was going to tell you, to break it off, but I didn’t want the attention you were giving me to stop. Then, well, a friend of mine saw us.”

“That day in the restaurant.” Amanda starts to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

“Yeah, that day. After she saw us I knew I had no choice but to tell Phoebe what’s been going on. In an effort to somehow save what we have.” He hangs his head, unable to meet her eyes.

“Who was that woman, Gerald? The one from the restaurant?”

Not wanting to bring Helga and Arnold into this he tries to avoid answering the question.

“It doesn’t matter who she is, she’s just a friend.”

“A friend, huh? Or perhaps a third member of your little haram?”

“What? No! No, of course not. Me and Helga? No, she’s one of my best friends!”

The name, Helga, rings a bell with Amanda. 

“Did you say, Helga?”

Gerald worries that he’s said too much.

“Um, maybe.”

“Helga, as in Arnold’s wife, Helga?”

“I didn’t know you knew Helga.”

“I don’t. So, did she put you up to flying out to California?”

“No. I already had plans to fly out for Thanksgiving, long before I met you.”

“I see. So let me get this straight. You have an almost fiancée in California. You get lonely and start to miss her so you turn to me, hoping to be shown a good time, with no thoughts at all to making any sort of relationship out of it. I was just, what, filler until you were with your girlfriend again? For a good time call Amanda? Is that what I was to you?”

“No, of course not, you were my friend. I just let things get out of hand. I let it go too far. I know I should have said something from the beginning and I’m sorry.”

“So then, where does that leave us now? You certainly don’t think I’d want to still be friends with you, do you?”

“I – I didn’t expect you to still want to be friends, and I don’t think that’s even a good idea, but I thought we could at least be cordial to each other.”

“I don’t think that will be happening. What about your fiancée? She kick you out on your ass?”

“No, not totally. I’m hoping to work things out with her. But the ball’s in her court now. It all depends on if she can forgive me or not.”

“Tell me, Gerald, did you at any point think there could be something more between us than just a good time?”

Ashamed, Gerald hangs his head. “No, I didn’t.”

“I see.”

Furious, Amanda stands up. Before leaving she stands over Gerald, glaring down at him. There’s venom in her voice as she speaks.

“No one makes a fool of me. If I were you, I’d watch my back.”

Turning on her heel she storms off without looking back. Downing his beer, Gerald motions to the waitress to bring him another. He sits alone drinking his beer hoping that the threat he heard in Amanda’s voice was just imagined.


	38. Chapter 38

It’s early on this cold December morning. Arnold floats in that space somewhere between wakefulness and sleep. In his semiconscious state he is torn between opening his eyes to greet the day, and giving in to the lure of his pillow. How easy it would be to allow himself to sink deep into the cottony comfort that his pillow provides as it caresses his head, lulling him back to sleep. He is about to give in to the temptation when his alarm goes off, chastising him for making the wrong decision. With a groan he rolls over, fumbling with the timepiece until he finally finds the right button, silencing it once and for all.

With his eyes still closed, he rolls onto his back and notices for the first time just how cold their little bedroom is. He throws out an arm as he rolls towards his wife but instead of a warm body, he is greeted with empty sheets. Grumbling, he rolls back towards the other side of the bed and opens his eyes. Looking out the window he discovers that it’s going to be another gray day. Last night’s weather forecast was threatening a light dusting of snow for the day and if the looks outside right now were any indication, he would bet that to be the case. 

“Ugh,” he complains as he gets up. “I hate the cold.”

“What was that?” Helga questions as she brings Phillip in to greet his daddy.

“Oh, nothing, just commenting on the weather.” Arnold says through a yawn. 

Seeing Phillip he smiles and reaches out to take him. “Hey my big man, you agree with your daddy, don’t you. We hate the snow, yes we do.”

Phillip rewards his daddy with a gurgle of bubbles and a wave of his arms.

Kissing the top of Little Phil’s head, Arnold follows Helga downstairs to the kitchen. As he sits down at the table Helga brings over two mugs of steaming coffee.

“You know,” Arnold says as he stares into Phillip’s face, “I think his eyesight is getting clearer. I swear he recognizes faces.”

“Well, he is two months old now.” Helga smiles as she watches the faces Arnold makes as he plays with their son.

Changing the subject Arnold turns to Helga. “So, they say it might snow today. You still planning on meeting me at the school for lunch?”

“Sure, thanks to Bob I now have a car that can handle a little snow. She hopes her reply will keep Arnold from worrying so much.

When Phillip was born Big Bob did his best to make sure that Helga and Arnold had everything they could possibly need for their child. This included a car that could handle the occasional snow that their part of Washington gets every year. That is why they were now the proud owners of a brand new, fully loaded Subaru Outback. It wasn’t big and pretentious like his Hummer, but it was the perfect size for their small family of three.

“Besides,” Helga continued, “It’s not the snow I’m worried about, its more facing Derek after him getting a gander of that video that went out.”

Arnold gives a bit of a sneer. “Heh, don’t worry, if he says or does anything to make you uncomfortable, I’ll handle him.”

Helga throws her hands to her chest and fakes a swoon. “Oh, my hero! Actually, though, I am kind of curious to get an up close gander at Amanda.”

“Now Helga,” Arnold warns, “Don’t you go starting any trouble.”

Helga holds her hands up in front of her in surrender. “Don’t worry, I won’t start anything. I might finish something, but I won’t start anything. Gerald did have a talk with her, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, he did that last week. He’s a little worried that Amanda may be holding a grudge against him, but I doubt she’s that childish.”

“I don’t know,” Helga disagrees, “Wronging a man eater, he could find himself paying a pretty high price for that.”

Arnold gives Helga an exasperated look. “Helga, I told you, she’s not a man eater. She’s just a little forward, that’s all.”

“Hmmpf, whatever you say, Arnoldo.”

Arnold gives a nod of his head. “That’s right, whatever I say.”

Handing Phillip over to Helga, Arnold gets up and heads upstairs to get dressed for work. Helga follows him, sitting on the bed as he changes.

“So Phillip and I will meet you in your office. Is 11:30 okay?”

“Yeah, that should be fine, then we can head over to the teacher’s lounge and you can show Little Phil off like a proud mommy.”

“It’s not so much I want to show him off, but I do feel like I should thank everyone in person for all the gifts and flowers they gave us when he was born.”

Arnold gives his wife and son a quick kiss before heading off to work leaving Helga to her thoughts. She’s anxious to meet Amanda and make up her own mind about the woman. She wonders what one wears when meeting someone like her. Technically, she doesn’t really know the woman, and she really hasn’t done anything personally to her, or Arnold - yet. Even so, subconsciously, she considers her competition, and not wanting to be outdone, she rummages through her pre-pregnancy jeans. She finds a stretchy pair that she just barely fits into and is pleased at the way they hug her curves without causing too much of a muffin top. With the threat of snow she decides on a warm, long-sleeved top. The neckline is modest, but because of the fact that she is still nursing Phillip, her breasts are much fuller and rounder than normal, causing the top to cling tightly to her body. She likes what she sees in the mirror, and with just a splash of make-up, and a curl to her hair, she’s ready for whatever competition Amanda tries to dish out. 

xxxxx

She arrives at the school a few minutes early and takes her time as she strolls the halls of her old alma mater. She carries Phillip in his carrier where he lays fast asleep. The first thing she does is stop by her old locker. Running her fingers down the cool metal she can see the faint outline of old, painted over words that she carved into the metal all those years ago. It’s a heart with an arrow going through it, the words Helga Loves Arnold engraved in its middle. She smiles at the memories the hidden message brings up. Memories of stolen kisses and the occasional fight, always mended with a session of heated lovemaking back in his bedroom that night. 

Her next stop is the trophy case. She sees the basketball trophy from when Arnold and Gerald played, along with various other trophies from football to tennis. Each team includes at least one member of their little group of friends. On the other side of the shelf were the women’s trophies representing more than a few teams that Helga herself played on over the years. 

She continues on to Arnold’s office. A couple of senior boys walk in the opposite direction, their heads turn as they pass her, their eyes following her curves as closely as the jeans she wears. They ignore the baby carrier that hangs from her arm as they whisper to each other that they’d, most definitely, tap that. 

Coming to Arnold’s office, she stands back and reads what’s written on the frosted glass window, “Arnold P. Shortman”, and under that in smaller letters, “School Guidance Counselor”. She gives a small tap on the door as she lets herself in. Arnold looks up from an open folder that sits in front of him and gives his wife a wide smile. 

 

She’s watched by a small group of girls that happen to be walking from Principal Dunn’s office as she enters Arnold’s. They wonder who the woman is that dares enter “their” guidance counselor’s office, and gather from the baby carrier that it must be his wife. They immediately converge on Arnold’s office and, under the guise of meeting Little Phillip, hope to get a closer look at the woman that’s won their precious Mr. Shortman’s heart. 

The bravest of the three girls is the first to speak. “Mr. Shortman! Is this your baby?”

The girls crowd around Arnold’s desk where Phillip still sleeps in his carrier. They make the appropriate comments about how precious Phillip is, and how lucky Arnold is to have such a cute baby. After a quick introduction to Helga the girls turn their attention once again to Arnold. Helga chuckles to herself as she watches the expression on Arnold’s face as he looks to her for help. 

Instead of rescuing him, she quietly excuses herself and heads to the girl’s bathroom. The bathroom is empty when she enters it and she chooses a stall at the far end by the wall. As she sits she scans the back of the door for a particular X-rated limerick she wrote more than six years prior. Finding it she reads it and as she chuckles to herself she hears the three girls from Arnold’s office enter the bathroom. She sits quietly as she listens to what they have to say as they check their reflections in the mirror that hangs over the sinks.

Girl 1: “Did you get a load of his wife?”  
Girl 2 “Yeah, she’s not so special. I wonder what he sees in her.”  
Girl 1: “She must be good in bed.”

The comment brings on a chorus of giggles.

Girl 3: “Oh, I don’t know, she looked kind of pretty to me.”  
Girl 1: “Geeze, Denise, you got a thing for Mr. Shortman’s wife?”  
Girl 3: “NO! I’m just saying, she seemed nice.”

Girl 2: “My older cousin went to school with her when they were kids. She says she was a bully.”  
Girl 1: “Ohhh, Mr. Shortman must like it rough then.”

Another chorus of giggles.

Girl 3: “Tonya, you’re too much.”  
Girl 1: “Oh yeah? But you have to admit, it does make you wonder. I bet he likes it rough.”

Unable to take it anymore, Helga flushes the toilet, letting the girls know they’re not alone. She comes out of the stall and silently walks up to the sink. The girls stand in embarrassment as Helga washes her hands.

When she’s finished she passes the girls by and as she opens the door to leave she says, “Take my advice, the rougher the better.”

She can hear the three girls erupt with shouts of laughter as she heads back to Arnold’s office. She’s still chuckling to herself as she enters the room.

“What’s so funny?” Arnold asks.

Helga proceeds to tell him of the events that just transpired and he looks at her with wide eyes.

“Helga!” He shouts, “What were you thinking! I see those girls every day! Their stares and giggles were bad enough before, I can only imagine the rumors that are going to be spread now.”

“Oh relax, Bucko. All I did was give those girls a little thrill. Something to talk about during homeroom.”

“Well you’d better hope Dunn doesn’t get wind of the images you put in those girl’s heads.”

Helga didn’t think about Dunn and how this could provide yet another reason for him to go after Arnold. 

“Oh, I didn’t think of that. I’m sorry. Well, hopefully it won’t go past your little circle of fan girls.” 

“Right. Come on, it’s almost time for the first lunch bell. Let’s take Phil over to the break room.”

They make it to the small room without any further incident and set Phillip up on a round table towards the back. One by one the room fills with Arnold’s work mates and they take their turns gathering around the proud parents as they introduce them to their son. Helga is gracious as she thanks them all for their kindness and generosity. 

Preoccupied with the people around them, neither Arnold nor Helga notice when Amanda enters the room. She hangs back, sizing Helga up. She has to admit to herself that she and Arnold do make a cute couple, and their baby is pretty adorable. It’s too bad they have to be used as collateral damage if she decides to go ahead with her plan to mess with Gerald and his fiancée. 

The door behind her opens as Travis, the school’s drama teacher enters the room. He’s a Hillwood native and is just a few years older than Helga and Arnold. Thinking he’d be a good source of information, Amanda has made it a point to become quite chummy with him. She approaches him now, intercepting him before he can make his way over to the new parents.

“Hey Travis.” She says through a sultry gaze.

“Oh, hey there Amanda.” He replies with a smile.

“Tell me something, you went to school with Helga, right? What can you tell me about her?”

Travis thinks back to his childhood days.

“Well, I was a few years ahead of her and Arnold so our paths didn’t really cross too often. All I really do know is that she was a bit of bully as a kid. She and Arnold weren’t really that close until sometime in middle school, or early high school, when they started going out. My little sister knows them better. She said that by the time they hit 12th grade they and their group were pretty popular on campus. You should talk to Gerald, he was in their group.”

Amanda’s eyes narrow at that last bit of information. “Oh he was, was he?”

She gives Travis’s upper arm a squeeze as she leans in close and thanks him for the information. Leaving him to stand alone with a slight blush to his cheeks.

“Uh, sure, Amanda, any time.” He says as she makes her way towards where Arnold and Helga stand.

Helga is doing her best not to punch Derek in the face as he goes on and on about the unfortunate Facebook video and how sexy Helga looked when she hears an unfamiliar voice from behind. Turning, she finds herself eye to eye with Ms Amanda Pearson herself. Their eyes meet, each woman trying to read the other. Arnold notices Helga’s hard stare and clears his throat.

“Uh, hi, Amanda. Helga, I’d like you to meet Amanda Pearson. She’s new this year to Hillwood.”

Helga extends her hand in greeting, her eyes never leaving Amanda’s. As their hands clasp Helga gives an extra firm squeeze in a show of dominance.

“Hello, Helga.” Amanda says through a slight wince. “It’s nice to meet you, Arnold’s told me so much about you.”

“Uh, yeah, I’ve heard about you, too.” Helga says as Arnold gives her an elbow in her side.

“Be nice.” He whispers in her ear.

Ignoring Helga, Amanda turns to Phillip. He’s no longer sleeping and lays looking at the various faces that smile down at him.

“Oh this must be little Phillip.” Amanda says with what Helga processes as a fake smile. “Well isn’t he a cutie. I can tell he’s going to be a looker just like his daddy.” She gives Arnold a blatant wink.

Helga’s hands start to ball into fists at her sides. Arnold see this and quickly throws an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. 

“Actually, I think he gets most of his good looks from his mommy.” He says as he gives Helga a kiss on her lips in an effort to put out her fuse.

A bit surprised by Arnold’s actions Helga blushes as she changes the subject. She grabs Phillip’s carrier and starts to say her good-byes to the small crowd.

“Well, it was great seeing you all again. Come on, Arnold, we should be getting to lunch.”

He picks up on her que and follows her out the door. Amanda is quick to give his arm a squeeze as he passes.

“See you when you get back.” She says to him with a sweet smile.

Helga waits until they are in the Packard before she lets Arnold know just what she thinks of Ms Amanda Pearson.


	39. Chapter 39

“AHHHH! I cannot believe the nerve of that witch!” Helga all but shouts as she and Arnold head out for a bite to eat. “I called her a man eater, but I was wrong. That bitch is a homewrecker! That’s what she is, a homewrecker! Did you see how she was blatantly flirting with you, AND IN FRONT OF ME EVEN!!”

“Yeah, I picked up on that.” Arnold agreed. “She sure is something else.”

“I was all but ready to not prejudge her. I almost was willing to put all the blame on Gerald for his little fiasco, but not anymore. I know better now. Gerald never stood a chance.”

“Now, Helga, try to calm down. Don’t let her antics spoil our lunch.”

Helga leans back in the passenger seat, her arms crossed tightly in front of her chest as she mumbles under her breath.

“A homewrecker, yep, that’s what she is alright. How could Gerald not see it, she’s so – so blatant. I wonder who her next victim will be. Probably that dumb Travis. Did you see how he was looking at her? Yep, I put my money on him, poor sap.”

Arnold shakes his head, chuckling at his wife.

“Come on, Helga. I don’t want to spend our lunch talking about Amanda and whose life she’s going to ruin next. Okay?

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

Glad to have the conversation put to rest, Arnold sways the conversation back to lunch. “So what do you feel like eating?”

Being back at Hillwood High, combined with leaving campus in the old Packard, brings to Helga memories of certain times when she would occasionally talk Arnold into skipping 5th period. She smiles as she remembers how they would leave campus for lunch to go sneaking off to the boarding house. Being careful not to get caught, they’d climb up the fire escape and, if no one was on the roof, sneak into his bedroom for a little “afternoon delight” before racing back to school for 6th period. With these thoughts running through her mind, she is suddenly no longer hungry for lunch.

“Hey, Arnold.” She says with a mischievous smile.

He sees the look on her face and can’t help but smile himself.

“What? What are you scheming in that head of yours?”

“What makes you think I’m scheming?”

“Because I know that look, it’s the look that you’re going to try to talk me into something that’s going to get me in trouble.”

“That may have been so when we were kids, but we’re adults now. We can do what we want. Right?”

“Helga, I know what you’re thinking.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes. You’re thinking of doing one of our old 5th period skips, right?”

“Maaay-be.” 

Stopping for a red light, he thinks for a moment. When the light turns green, he makes a quick U-turn.

“Okay, but I have to be back at the school by 3:00. I have a parent meeting I can’t miss.”

xxxxx

Arnold rushes into the school’s parking lot at 2:55. Pulling up next to Helga’s Outback he pulls her close for a quick kiss. Wrapping her arms around his neck the kiss lingers just long enough for the three girls that Helga met earlier, plus a couple more, to come walking by. Recognizing Arnold’s car, they peer in through the front windshield. Seeing their guidance counselor making out with his wife, the girls give out a high pitched squeal. 

They break the kiss and Arnold looks out the windshield, a bright blush coloring his cheeks.

“Oh great.” He says.

“Geeze, those girls must have some sort of radar when it comes to you. Do they always travel in packs like that?”

“They’re teenage girls, you remember how it was back then.”

“I was never one to adhere to the pack mentality.” Helga says a bit self-righteously. 

“Oh, that’s right, you were the original Lone Wolf. Come on, I’ll help you get Phillip into the Subaru.”

As they get out of the car Tonya is quick to address the couple.

“Hi Mr. Shortman, Mrs. Shortman. Have a nice lunch?”

“Just fine, Tonya.” Arnold says, hoping the girls move along quickly.

As the girls move on Tonya yells out, “That’s nice, I hope things didn’t get too rough.”

The pack of girls laugh hysterically at Tonya’s comment, causing Arnold to shoot Helga an annoyed look. She can’t help but laugh too as she takes Phillip from him. Giving her a quick kiss on her forehead he rushes off.

“See, I told you, no good ever comes when you give me that 5th period skip look. I’m late. I’ll see you later.”

“Helga watches as Arnold rushes past his pack of admirers. Tonya turns towards her and waves. Thinking that she sees a lot of herself at that age in the girl, she smiles at her and waves back.

“You are definitely going to give some man a run for his money when you’re older.” Helga thinks as she gets in her car and heads back to the boarding house.

xxxxx

Arnold walks quickly down the hallway, hoping the parents he is supposed to meet are running late. The door to the teacher’s lounge opens and he almost runs into Gerald as he steps into the hallway.

“Whoa, Arnold, where’s the fire?”

“Oh, hey Gerald, I’m actually late for a 3:00 meeting. Gotta run.”

Gerald yells after Arnold as he runs down the hall.

“Dunn was looking for you earlier. Something about missing a 2:00 meeting with him?”

Arnold grimaces at the mention of Dunn. “Dammit!” He thinks to himself. “I knew there was something I was supposed to do.”

By the time Arnold makes it to his office it is 3:15. The couple he was supposed to meet with was just getting ready to leave when he comes rushing through the door. Out of breath, he holds out his hand as he greets the parents.”

“Mr. Sanchez, Mrs. Sanchez, it’s nice to meet you, I’m Arnold Shortman, your son’s guidance counselor.” 

Arnold’s meeting with the Sanchez’s has run longer than anticipated. Their son, Michael, is one of Hillwood’s more industrious students and has, what Arnold feels to be, a very bright future ahead of him, IF he can just stay on track. He’s been getting distracted lately which has been causing his grades to drop and it’s Arnold’s job to find out why, and do what he can to try to reach out to the boy and help him. His parents share in Arnold’s concern and are willing to do all they can. Their meeting this afternoon was to come together to formulate a plan that can be implemented both at home and at school to help the boy. By the time both parties are satisfied with what they have to do it is nearly 5:00 when they say their good-byes. Now Arnold sits alone in his office as he organizes his desk, making sure that the notes he’s taken on Michael make it into his file.

By now most of the teachers have left for home, leaving just a scattering of people involved in various after school activities to walk the halls. Having stayed after work to help Travis with this year’s school play, Amanda lets her mind wander as she walks the halls towards Principal Dunn’s office to drop off some paperwork. She thinks about Gerald and his dishonesty and it eats away at her. She remembers the kisses they shared in her apartment and she feels a momentary sadness. She felt something for him when they kissed that was never there with all her past lovers. She was always one to play it cool when it came to guys, but there was something about Gerald that touched her. She had started to fall for him and when it hit her it hit her fast and it hit her hard. In her mind he had taken advantage of that, and she’s not used to being the one to be gotten the best of.

Growing up the only girl of five boys, she was her daddy’s little princess. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. Whatever his little girl wanted she got. She was his perfect little angel. On top of being the only girl, she was the baby of the family too, and protected by her older brothers. She was also very pretty, and at a young age she learned how to use her looks to get what she wanted. Having five older brothers, who each had lots of friends, also meant that there was never a shortage of male prospects around the house. As she got older, boys became play things to her. There for her amusement and when she’d get tired of one, there was always another ready and willing to take his place. 

Never, in all her dealings with the opposite sex, had she ever been the one to be dumped in a relationship until she met Gerald. In her eyes he had used her and she didn’t like it and she swore she would get him back. Usually when she was mad at a guy, she would go for the new girlfriend, but with Phoebe being all the way in California, she would need a more roundabout way to mess with them. In her way of thinking, if she can’t mess with the girl directly, then she’ll mess with the girl’s best friend. If she plays it right, Helga should complain to Phoebe, who will then turn on Gerald. Yep, the perfect plan. 

After dropping off the papers for Dunn, she notices a light on in Arnold’s office. It’s unusual for him to be at school so late so she decides to pay him a visit. Not expecting anyone, Arnold is surprised when he hears a faint tapping at his door. Curious as to who it could be, he gives a questioning “Come in?”

He recognizes the auburn hair before he even sees her face. Wondering what on earth she could want, he only half-heartedly greets her.

“Amanda, what an unexpected………surprise.”

She slowly walks over to his desk. This is her first time visiting the little office and her gaze scans the interior as she walks. He notices that the suit jacket she was wearing earlier is nowhere to be seen. The top few buttons of the sweater she was wearing under it are unbuttoned, revealing more than a modest amount of cleavage. When it comes to women he’s not as dense as he was back in his PS 118 days, and he can’t help but get the feeling that she has set her sights on him as her next victim. 

Reaching his desk she sits on the edge of it, her skirt hiking up her leg.

“I’m helping Travis as he works on this year’s school play. I was walking down the hall and noticed the light to your office was still on, so I decided to come and investigate.”

She sees the picture of Helga and Phillip on his desk and picks it up. 

“Such a nice little family you have for yourself, Arnold. You must be proud of that little baby, he’s so, cute.”

“Yes, well, I consider myself to be a lucky man, I not only have a healthy baby, I have a very beautiful wife too.” He hopes she gets the hint.

“Well, if you ask me, Helga is the lucky one. I mean, to have such a ……. Handsome man for a husband.” She leans forward a bit on the word “handsome” and gives him a smile.

As she leans closer she notices what looks like a fresh bite mark on his neck which she swears was not there earlier in the day. Still leaning in, she moves her gaze from his neck to his eyes.

“You were missed this afternoon. Principal Dunn was looking for you.”

“Uh, yeah, Gerald told me.”

“Hiding from the principal were you?”

“No, why would I hide from Dunn. I was at lunch with my wife.”

She gives a soft laugh as she reaches out to pull on Arnold’s collar.

“Ahhh, I see. That bite mark makes sense now.”

Having enough of her games, Arnold grabs her wrist, pulling her hand away from him. Standing up to leave, he grabs his briefcase.

“Whatever, Amanda. It’s late, don’t you think you should be on your way?”

She starts to leave and he grabs her arm, stopping her.

“Oh, and Amanda, I don’t know what kind of games you’re trying to play, but whatever it is, just forget it. You’re not going to win.”

Arnold doesn’t realize it, but he’s just thrown down the gauntlet which she accepts readily. 

She gives him an innocent look. “I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about, Arnold.”

Returning her look, Arnold stares her down. “Riiiight.” He draws out the word, letting her know he doesn’t believe her.

He catches just a hint of a falter in her demeanor as she pulls out of his grasp. Leaving his office she decides that she might want to do a little checking up on this seemingly tight knit group, just to see what, if anything she can dig up on them. She remembers what Travis said about his younger sister having gone through school with Arnold and his gang and thinks she’d be a good place to start.

Walking to her car she sees Travis as he heads to his. Ruffling up her hair, and stretching out the part of her sweater where Arnold grabbed onto her, she puts on a scared face and rushes to catch up with him. She gives a small whimper, catching his attention.

“Oh, hi Amanda.” He sees the look on her face and notices her messed up hair. “Hey, is something wrong?”

She looks up innocently. “N-no, nothing’s wrong.”

He doesn’t believe her. “I thought you’d be on your way home by now.”

“Oh, I was on my way, but I stopped to talk to Arnold for a bit.” 

Travis narrows his eyes. “Did he do something to upset you?”

She feigns surprise. “W-what? No, no, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure, because if he did anything to upset you…..”

“No, I’m telling you, I’m fine. It’s nothing I can’t handle. I need to get going.”

“Okay, if you’re sure. So, are we still on for this weekend?”

“Yeah, sure, I’m looking forward to it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She quickly heads to her car, a hidden smile on her face. Travis watches her walk away wondering what Arnold could possibly have done to upset her like that. Figuring Arnold not to be the type to take advantage of a woman, he shrugs his shoulders to forget about it, but his suspicions still linger in the back of his mind.

Soon afterwards Arnold heads to his own car. He sends Helga a text as he gets in, letting her know that he’s on his way home. He thinks about Amanda just randomly popping into his office after hours like she did and doesn’t like it. That feeling of having a bulls-eye on his back creeps up on him again. She’s up to something, he knows it. Now if he could just figure out what it is. He doesn’t think it has anything to do with Gerald, no, she’s already casted that whole ordeal aside and moved on, hasn’t she?

As he pulls into the driveway of the boarding house, the one thing he is sure of is that he’s not going to alert Helga to his suspicions. At least, not yet.


	40. Chapter 40

After finally meeting the newest member to the Hillwood High School faculty staff, Helga is able to make up her own mind about the woman. Having responded to Phillip’s cry for his 2 AM feeding, she now sits in the darkened nursery rocking the child back to sleep, the only light coming from a small bedside lamp. As she sits, she goes over her mental checklist. Is the woman arrogant? Yes. Is she a woman on the prowl? Definitely a yes. Is she ballsy? Yep. Does she wear her make-up like a cheap, two bit whore? Damn straight. Will she get the best of Helga G. Shortman? Oh hell no. She still can’t get over the audacity of the woman to so blatantly flirt with Arnold right in front of her face. She did have to smile at Arnold’s attempts to shut the woman down though. Poor guy, he’s going to have his hands full trying to keep that piranha at bay. 

With her cheek rubbing against the feathery softness of her baby’s head, she doesn’t hear the squeak of the hinges as Arnold slowly opens the nursery door. Peeking around it he sees his wife lost in thought as Phillip sleeps against her chest. He quietly walks into the room, startling her when she finally notices him.

“Geeze, Arnoldo!” She says through a hushed voice. “What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to wake Phillip. When are you coming to bed?”

“Soon. What’s wrong, you lonely?”

“Maybe. Besides, it’s cold in that drafty old bedroom. I need my bed warmer.”

“Is that all I am, a bed warmer to you, and a food truck to Phillip. Sheesh.”

He gives her a chuckle as he takes Phillip from her, placing him in his crib.

“What were you doing, having a pity party in here or something?”

She takes his hand as they leave the nursery. “No, of course not.”

“Then what were you in such deep thought about? Me and how you can’t wait to ravish me?” He gives her a raise of his eyebrows as he smiles lecherously. 

“Heh, you wish. I was actually thinking about how ballsy Amanda is.”

Internally Arnold thinks, “If you only knew.” Externally he says, “Now Helga, don’t let her go renting space in that head of yours. She’s not worth it.”

They each get into their side of their bed. After turning off his bedside lamp he rolls over to face her. He runs his fingers through her hair as her hand roams up and down his hip.

“I know, but I just can’t shake the feeling that she’s set her sights on you and wants to make damn sure I know it. It’s almost as if she’s challenging me.”

“Well I hope you don’t take the bait. Don’t stoop to her level, you’re better than that.”

“Hey, if she even tries to mess with you, I will take her down. She will regret ever stepping foo……………”

Rolling on top of her, he pins her arms to her sides and presses his mouth to hers, stopping her from finishing her sentence. Pressing his lips tightly to her mouth, he continues the kiss. Only when he feels her body relax does he loosen his grip, and, with the matter settled for the night, they are free to move on to more pressing business.

xxxxx

 

It was hard for Gerald to admit the truth about what was going on between him and Amanda, but now that it’s out in the open he feels as if a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. He hates the fact that such a dumb move on his part almost lost him his two best friends. Grateful for them sticking by him, he feels at home once more as he sits in their family room, enjoying another Saturday filled with watching one football game after another. He holds Phillip on his lap, making faces and blowing raspberries in an effort to entertain the child. Picking Phillip up, he holds the child over his head as he makes airplane noises. Seeing this, Helga gives Gerald a warning.

“Uh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Geraldo.”

“Why not? He likes it.”

“Umm, because he just ate and you’re going to upset his stomach.”

Gerald looks up at Phil’s face.

“Eh, he looks fine to me.”

No sooner do the words leave his mouth, when Phillip lets out a big burp, followed by a stream of partially digested breastmilk.

“Arrrrgh!, My lucky jersey!” Gerald yells as he stands up handing Phillip to Arnold.

Helga can’t help but laugh at him. 

“I warned you. Criminy, are you two knuckleheads going to be okay watching Phillip on your own, or am I going to have to take him with me Christmas shopping?”

Arnold walks the floor bouncing the now agitated Phillip as Gerald runs to the kitchen sink to rinse off his precious good luck charm.

“We’ll be fine.” Arnold says, “Gerald’s learned his lesson and won’t be doing that again any time soon. Go and get your shopping done.”

She’s hesitant, but figures Arnold really does know what he’s doing. Plus, she really doesn’t want to drag Phillip around with her all day as she shops. 

Kissing Arnold and Phillip she yells out a few last minute instructions as she passes a wet Gerald on her way out the door.

“There should be plenty of breastmilk in the fridge, and he hasn’t pooped yet so be on guard for that, and for heaven’s sake, don’t get so involved in the game that you forget you’re watching a child!”

“Will you just go already!” Arnold shouts. “Geeze, you’d think I don’t know what I’m doing with the way she goes on.”

“She’s just doing her job.” Gerald says as he sits back down, ready to enjoy a day of sports.

“You want Phillip back?” Arnold asks.

“Uh, no.” Gerald says, waving his hands in front of him. “I think I’ve had enough for one day.”

xxxxx

Helga gets in her car and heads off downtown for an afternoon of shopping. Christmas is just over three weeks away and there’s a lot to get done. With her family finally getting their lives together, and this being Phillip’s first Christmas, she really wants to do things right this year. She knows that Olga is going to insist on hosting Christmas at her house as she does every year, but Helga’s hoping she can talk her sister into having it at the boarding house instead. Ever since that first Christmas, when she and Arnold first consummated their love for each other under that ridiculously huge tree Bob always insisted on putting up, the holiday has always held a special meaning for the two. Now, with Phillip in the mix, they have even more of a reason to want to celebrate the holiday in their own home. 

With this being the case, her first stop is to look for decorations to add to their current meager supply. She hits up the local Wal-Mart and heads straight for their seasonal isle. She checks out all the bright lawn decorations and wishes they had somewhere to display stuff like that. But without really having any sort of front yard, she has to settle for window decorations instead. 

After spending an hour milling through the decorations, she finds all she needs and is ready to move on to the next item on her list. Wanting to find just the right gifts for each member of her family, Arnold’s grandparents, and Gerald and Phoebe, she heads off to Budnick’s Department Store. Walking through the doors of Budnick’s she remembers the year everyone was going gaga over those stupid Nancy Spumoni snow boots. She remembers how happy she was, for about five minutes, when she received hers. She thinks of her mom, waiting 18 hours in line just to get her the boots she wanted. She didn’t realize at the time how dedicated her mom was to her, to go through all that just to make her happy. She wonders if her mom ever really knew how happy the gift had made her. It’s too bad she never really got the chance to wear them. But they did go to a good cause in helping Mr. Hyunh find his daughter. 

She stands just inside the doors to the store, wondering in which direction to go first. She decides to start at the top and work her way down. Getting on the escalator she spots a familiar auburn haired witch. She’s glommed onto Travis’s arm as they make their way through the store. “Heh, poor guy.” She thinks, feeling a little sorry for him. She makes a mental note to do her best to avoid bumping into the pair as she turns her attention back to the business at hand.

After a good three hours of shopping she’s made a pretty good dent in her list and decides to head home. Happy that she was able to avoid running into Amanda and her latest boy toy, Helga decides to treat herself to a chocolate shake at Slausen’s. Seating herself in her and Arnold’s favorite booth, she orders her shake and people watches. Scanning the place, she’s happy that Amanda is nowhere to be seen. Hearing the tinkle of the bell that sits above the front door she turns her head to see two members of Arnold’s fan club come walking in. She recognizes the one to be the more outspoken Tonya, with the other one being her meeker friend, Denise. When the two girls spot Helga sitting alone they come walking over to say hello.

“Hey, Mrs. Shortman.” Tonya says, “What a surprise to see you here. Are you alone?”

Helga can only guess that the girl is hoping that Arnold is with her. She’s kind of sorry to have to disappoint her.

“Yep, I’m here all by my lonesome. Would you girls like to join me? My treat.”

The look of embarrassment on Denise’s face as Tonya readily accepts Helga’s invitation makes Helga chuckle. 

“Hey, free grub? We’d love to join you, right, Denise.” Tonya says as she nudges her friend into the booth.

“Uh, s-sure.” Denise says, sliding in, making room for her friend to sit next to her.

Helga smiles at the two girls. “Order what you want, like I said, it’s my treat.”

Tonya picks up a menu and while glancing at it says, “Okay, but I warn you, I’m not a cheap date, nothing but the best for me.”

Once again something about the girl reminds Helga of herself, making her like her even more.

“I hear ya girl.” Helga chuckles, “My sentiments exactly.”

After the girl’s put in their orders Tonya gives Helga a questioning look. “So, what are you doing out alone, Mr. Shortman kick you out of the house?”

“Tonya!” Denise cries, “You shouldn’t be so rude.”

“Oh, it’s okay, Denise.” Helga says, “No, I didn’t get kicked out. I was doing some Christmas shopping and left Arnold home on baby duty. He and Gerald, I mean Mr. Johanssen, are having their usual “spend all Saturday watching football” day.”

“Oh,” Denise says, a bit surprised, “I knew they were friends, but I didn’t know they were that good of friends.”

“Oh yes, the three of us go way back, actually.”

Their ice cream comes, causing a momentary lull in the conversation. After a bit Helga tries to come up with something of interest to say.

“So, I hear you girls are on the debate team.”

“Yep!” Tonya says, a bit of pride in her voice. “We’ve just qualified to go to the state finals too, it’s a first for Hillwood High in like five years.”

“Really? Wow, your parents must be proud of you.”

“Heh.” Tonya gives a shrug of her shoulders. “Like my parents would even notice.”

Helga is quick to pick up on her words.

“Do you not get along with your parents, Tonya?” Helga tries not to, but can’t help giving Tonya a sympathetic look.

“When they take the time to notice me, no, we don’t.” Helga can see the girl starting to grow uncomfortable but she takes a risk and presses her anyway.

“Why don’t your parents notice you?”

“Because, they’re too busy throwing themselves into their precious jobs. And when they’re not busy with work they spend all their time gloating on my stupid older brother, ‘Jake The Great’.” The girl stops, shoving a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.

Helga reaches out and places a hand on the girl’s arm. “You know, it’s funny, me and you. We have a lot in common. I think I can sympathize with what you’re saying.”

The girl’s demeanor becomes hard and she narrows her eyes at Helga. “Why, you got an older brother that can do no wrong too?”

Helga smiles. “Heh, no. With me it was my sister. Little Miss Perfect. My parent’s perfect little golden child.”

Tonya’s expression softens. “With my brother it’s sports. Always the team captain, or star quarterback.”

Helga leans back in her seat, the ice cream in her shake has started to slowly melt, turning it into more of a thick, chocolate soup. 

“It gets better, you know.”

“What does?” Tonya asks, confused.

“Family, and you know what the trick is?”

“Oh, please do tell.” Tonya says a bit sarcastically. She tries her best to appear aloof, but deep inside she really would love to know how to make things better between herself and her family.

“All my life I had felt like I had been dealt a raw deal when it came to family. I mean, I had a workaholic dad, and alcoholic mother, and a narcissistic sister. My parents doted on my sister, never giving me any attention, no matter how well I excelled. I kept waiting for everyone around me to be the ones to make the steps to change how things were. Then one day it hit me. It’s not up to them to make my life better, it’s up to me. So I made a promise to myself that I would be the one to accept my family as they are, flaws and all and instead of fighting against them, I worked with them trying to find the good in them. Then once I found it, I concentrated on the good and let go of the bad. It made my life a lot happier.”

Tonya crosses her arms in front of her, trying her best to look tough. “Yeah, well, you don’t know my family, there is no good in any of them.”

Helga nods her head in agreement. “That’s what I thought too, and it wasn’t easy, but eventually I found it. Of course, I had the support of my husband too. He was always there behind me, urging me on.”

The mention of Arnold caught Denise’s attention, causing her to speak up for the first time in their conversation.

“Oh, Mr. Shortman.” She said dreamily. “How did the two of you meet?”

Helga thinks back to their Urban Tots Preschool days. “Oh, we’ve known each other most of our lives. We met in preschool.”

“Yeah, and I heard you were quite the bully as a kid.” Tonya pipes in, quite proud of herself.

“Ha, ha, yeah, I was, and poor Arnold. He got the brunt of it.”

Denise’s eyes grow wide at the statement. “Really? Why? Didn’t you like him when you were little?”

“Oh, no, quite the opposite. I liked him too much. The trouble was, I was too young to know how to handle feelings like that, so they kinda came out a little…………mean.”

Denise turns to Tonya. “Hey, just like how you were with Blake back in grade school.”

Tonya gives her friend an elbow in the side as her face grows red. “Shut up, Denise!”

Helga laughs at the two girls. “You know what, you two remind me an awful lot like myself and my best friend, Phoebe.”

Tonya does her best to turn the conversation off of her and back onto Helga.

“So then Mr. Shortman does like it rough, huh?” She says as she gives Helga a knowing smile.

Forgetting for a moment that she’s talking to Arnold’s students Helga gives a far off smile as she answers softly.

“Yeah, he does.” Coming back to her senses she quickly tries to retract her answer. “I, uh, I mean no, no, of course not.” 

Now it’s Helga’s turn to blush. 

“Anyway, it was lovely talking to you girls, but I really should be going.” 

Tonya was enjoying talking to Helga and is disappointed to see her go.

“Yeah, we had fun too. Um, thanks for the ice cream.”

“Yeah,” Denise agrees, “Thanks for the ice cream. It was fun hanging out with you.”

Looking at the check, and putting down enough money to cover it, Helga gets up and directs her attention to Tonya.

“You know, anytime you feel like you want someone to talk to, Arnold and I live at the old Sunset Arms boarding house. You’re welcome to stop by.”

Letting down her guard Tony gives Helga a genuine smile.

“Okay, thanks, Mrs. Shortman. Maybe I will.”

She gives the girl a wink. “Good, and it’s Helga. Mrs. Shortman is Arnold’s grandma.”

As Helga leaves Denise turns to Tonya. “See, I told you she was nice.” She says, proving she was right all along.


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for a disclaimer. I claim no rights to Star vs The Forces of Evil or Dragon Ball Z. Oh, and there’s a spoiler alert in regards to an episode of Star, just wanna give you fair warning.

By the time Helga makes it back to the boarding house Gerald has long gone back to his apartment. She walks into the family room to find an exhausted Arnold stretched out on the couch, baby monitor on his chest. Walking up to him, she picks up his legs and sits down, placing the lower part of his legs across her lap. She grabs his right foot and begins to massage it gently.

“Wow. That must have been some game, you look exhausted.”

He looks at her through half lidded eyes. “It wasn’t the game, it was Phillip. He was relentless with his crying.”

Helga gives a surprised look. “Really? That’s unusual, he usually doesn’t start his crying fits until late afternoon. As a matter of fact, he’s actually cut back on the all-nighters. I hope he’s not getting sick.”

Arnold gives a shake of his head. “He didn’t seem sick, just cranky. He’s asleep now, though, and I’m beat. Now that you’re here I think I’ll go take a shower.”

Getting up he gives her a quick kiss on her forehead. “When I get back you can tell me all about your day.”

She watches him as he walks away then turns on the TV, flipping through the channels, trying to find something to pass the time. She, too, is a bit tired from her long day of shopping. She’s anxious to tell Arnold about running into Tonya and Denise at Slausen’s. She can’t get over how much Tonya reminds her of herself at that age and once again she feels a slight pang in her heart for the girl.

After a bit her eyes start to become heavy. She would have fallen asleep if not for Arnold finally coming back into the room. Sitting next to her, he comments on the program she’s chosen to watch.

“What on earth are you watching? Aren’t you a little old for cartoons?”

A long grin begins to stretch across her face. “Oh, this isn’t just any cartoon.”

“Oh no? What makes it so special?”

“This is Star vs The Forces of Evil. It’s one of my favorite shows! See that girl, that’s Star Butterfly. She lives in the dimension of Mewni. And that boy, that’s Marco. He lives on Earth. The two of them go on adventures to different dimensions. This is my all-time favorite episode. You see, Marco’s time in Mewni is over and he has to go back to Earth. Star doesn’t want him to go because she’ll miss him too much so she takes this red hoodie that he always wears and hides it so she’ll have something of his to remember him by.” Helga stops to give a deep sigh. “It’s quite sad and romantic at the same time. I think they are my favorite couple.”

Arnold give her a questioning look. “Romantic? Uh, Helga, in case you haven’t noticed, this is a cartoon. You know, as in not real.”

She becomes a bit perturbed by his statement. “So? Who cares? Look at how cute they are together. How can you not just love it?”

“Um, I can just not love it because it’s not real. Me, you, we’re real. They are make believe.”

“Heh, you’re just a hater. You’d better not let anyone on any of the fan sites hear your blasphemy.”

“Fan sites? As in those sites where people write stories about fictional characters? Oh Helga, don’t tell me you read those things?”

Her lack of a response answers his question, and the blush of her cheeks tells him even more.

“Oh no, hold on here. You don’t write those things, do you?”

“Those THINGS are called fanfics, and what if I do?”

He gives a laugh as he shakes his head. “Oh, Helga, I do love you, quirks and all.”

She smiles at him and gives him a look out of the corner of her eye. 

“You know, there’s a comic convention coming up in February at the convention center. You could dress up as Marco and I could be Star. All we’d have to do is dye your hair and …….”

“What! Oh no, I am not going to any convention dressed up like a………” His eyes narrow as he looks at her. “Hey, wait a minute. Is that why you bought me that red hoodie for my birthday?”

An indignant look comes over Helga as she gives a little huff. “Hmmf, as if I would be that much of a schemer. Plus, you and Gerald dressed up as Goku and Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z that year for Halloween so don’t go telling me you don’t dress up.”

“Hey, you gotta love the spikey hair, and besides, I think it’d be awesome to go all Super Sayian.” He places his arms down by his hips, hands cupped, palms facing each other as he concentrates. “KAAAAMEEE-HAAMEE-HAAAA!” He says as he shoots his hands out in front of him.

She can’t help but laugh at his silliness. “Oh brother, I don’t ever want to hear you tease me about my fanfics ever again.”

“Whatever, besides, that was 6th grade. We were kids. You’re what, pushing 40?”

Her eyes grow wide, “FORTY! Puh-lease. I’m younger than you and you know it.”

Their gentle teasing back and forth is interrupted by a loud wail that comes over the baby monitor. It’s a cry that they have not heard come out of Phillip before and it startles them. Jumping up they both run up the stairs to the nursery. 

Helga picks up their screaming child, placing his forehead to her cheek. His cheeks are flushed and there’s a distinct heat radiating from his body.

“Oh, Arnold, he feels like he’s burning up. I think he may have a fever.”

Not sure what to do, Arnold gives Helga a worried look.

Helga walks to the dresser and rummages through a basket of baby supplies. She sorts through various items like diaper cream and nail clippers until she spies what she’s looking for. Pulling out the baby thermometer she walks back over to the crib, gently laying Phillip back down.

“We need to take his temperature. The doctor said not to use the ear thermometers at this age since they’re not as accurate so we’re going to have to take off his diaper.”

Arnold’s hands shake as he slowly peels back the sticky tabs that hold Phillip’s diaper snuggly to his body. Once removed Helga puts a dab of petroleum jelly on the end of the thermometer and gently glides it into her child. Arnold gives a little wince as the tip of the thermometer disappears and without realizing it, he holds his breath. Once they hear the beep, Helga removes the thermometer and reads off the findings.

“101.2.” She looks at Arnold. “That’s pretty high for such a little guy. I think we should call the doctor.”

xxxxx

The worry on Arnold’s face is evident as he quickly pulls his cell phone from his pocket.

“Okay, I’ll call. You just comfort Phillip.”

Helga sits in the rocker, holding Phillip close to her chest, her cheek on his head. She does her best to calm him as she rocks but Phillip is relentless with his screams. After a few rings the doctor’s answering service picks up and Arnold proceeds to tell them what’s wrong with Little Phil. The person on the other end of the phone takes the message and says that the on call doctor should call them back within the next 15 minutes. Arnold paces the floor as they wait for the return call.

“I can’t believe we have to sit here and wait for them to call us back. I thought they’d have some sort of nurse or something right there to tell us what to do.”

“Come on, Arnold, try to calm down. Someone will get back to us as soon as they can.”

Arnold holds the screen of his phone up for Helga to see.

“Look, it’s been fifteen minutes. They said we’d get a call within fifteen minutes, so where’s the call? Maybe I should call them back.”

As soon as the words leave his mouth his phone goes off. He answers it on the first ring.

“Hello? Yes, I’m Mr. Shortman. Yes, I’m Phillip’s father. What? Yes, he’s been cranky all day and then just started crying. His temperature? Yes, it was 101.2. Huh? He’s just over two months. His nose?” 

Arnold walks up to Phillip, looking at his face. 

“Yeah, his nose is a bit runny. Ear infection? Yeah, Okay. Cold water? Oh, tepid, okay. Infant Tylenol, okay. Alright, got it. Thank you. Okay, bye.”

Helga gives him a bit of an annoyed look.

“Well that was an interesting conversation. Don’t you think you could have put the phone on speaker so I could hear too?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

“So, what did the doctor say?”

“Well, we need to get the fever down. He said to give Phil infant Tylenol then put him in a bath of tepid water, not cold. If the fever doesn’t go down or if it gets worse we need to take him to the ER. He said make sure he gets lots of fluids, and to make an appointment to bring him into the doctor.”

Helga holds her child a little tighter. “What do you think it could be?” 

“He said that the most common illnesses at this age is either a cold or ear infection. We just need to get his fever down. Want me to fill up his bathtub while you undress him?”

“No, I’m not letting go of him. He can sit in our tub with me.”

“You don’t need to get in the tub too, Helga, he’ll be okay.”

“I don’t care. He needs the comfort of his mommy. I’m not putting him down.”

Arnold can hear the resolve in her voice. It’s the same resolve she had during Phillip’s delivery when she swore she would not have any pain meds nor a C-section. Knowing better than to try and fight her once her mind is made up, he goes off to run a bath for her and Phil as she gives the baby his Tylenol.

Once the tub is filled she slowly settles down into the tepid water. Having Arnold hand the child down to her, she holds him to her chest, submerging his tiny body in the water. She runs a wet washcloth over any exposed skin as she sings a soft lullaby. Arnold sits on the floor next to them, towel in hand for when Phillip is ready to come out.

The warm water calms Phillip and his crying sobs have turned to little whimpers. Once the water has cooled off Helga hands Phil to Arnold who quickly wraps him up in the dry towel. After he’s dried off they take his temperature once more.

Helga holds the thermometer in front of her face, reading off the numbers.

“100 even. That’s good, it’s gone down. When can he have more Tylenol?”

Arnold looks at the directions once more. 

“It says every 4 hours. So in three hours we can give him his next dose.”

Helga picks Phillip up and walks to their bedroom. Placing him on the bed she sits next to him.

“Um, Helga, you don’t need to sit there watching him for the next three hours. We have the baby monitor you know.”

“I told you, I’m not leaving his side. I’m fine right here. You don’t have to stay.”

Arnold gives her a roll of his eyes and talks as he leaves the room.

“Well, I’m starving. I’m ordering a pizza, I’ll bring it up when it comes. We can have a picnic on the bed.”

She smiles at his back as he walks away, then turns her attention to her sleeping child. His cheeks are not so red and his breathing is steady and even although every now and then he gives out a little whimper. Helga braces herself for a long night of watching and worrying.

xxxxx

Arnold sits next to Helga on their bed, an arm draped around her shoulders as Phillip starts to stir. Remembering what the doctor said about keeping him hydrated, Helga tries to get him to breastfeed. Phillip halfheartedly takes her breast but keeps wanting to doze off as he eats. Helga has to repeatedly give him a little nudge each time his eyes close. He gives a little annoyed grunt each time he’s woken up. Eventually they hear a knocking at the front door and Arnold runs downstairs to answer it.

“PIZZAAAA!” He yells as he runs out of the room.

A few minutes later he comes back in the room, pizza box in one hand, two Yahoo sodas in the other. Placing the box on top of the bed he opens it up, breathing in deeply.

“Mmmm, come to me you cheesy bit of Heaven.” He says, tilting his head back as he holds a slice, pointy end down, above his mouth.

“Ohmygod that’s soooo good.” He moans.

“Geeze, you sound like you’re having an orgasm.” Helga remarks as she takes a bite out of her slice. “Mmmm, but it is good though.”

“See, who’s all pizza horny now?” Arnold smirks.

“Pizza horny? Where do you come up with this stuff? Dork.”

She gives Phillip another little shake to get him to resume nursing as she concentrates on her pizza slice.

“You’re not the only one that’s good with words, you know.” Arnold says a bit smugly.

“Oh, right, you’re a real master poet.”

“You know it!” Arnold is quite proud of his little rhyme.

“Well, you’re no Oscar Wilde, but you’ll do in a pinch I guess.”

Once they’ve finished their pizza, Arnold gets up to take the leftover food to the kitchen.

“Are you sure you want to stay up here all evening? He’s just going to be sleeping.”

“No, I want to be able to monitor him. Besides, it’s finally time to give him more Tylenol.”

She feels Phillip’s forehead. He still feels warm and the flush to his cheeks is starting to come back. Doing her best to wake him up, she gives him his next dose of medicine. This time she gives him his breastmilk through a bottle, hoping to keep him hydrated.

Sometime around 10:00 Arnold rejoins her in their bedroom.

“Hey, how’s it going up here?”

“He’s doing okay, he keeps going in and out of sleep. Are you up here for the night, or are you going back downstairs?”

Arnold wraps an arm around her shoulders, with his free hand he brushes a few stray hairs from her face. He nuzzles her neck then looks her in the eye.

“Why, you trying to get rid of me?”

He places kisses across her forehead, bringing a smile to her face.

“No, on the contrary, I’d love the company.”

Arnold’s free hand starts to run up the front of her shirt now as his kisses trail down the side of her face to finally land on her lips. Helga shifts her body to face him, the movement causes her body to move away from Phillip who is laying on the other side of her. Not feeling his mommy next to him, Phillip begins to whimper. The sounds pull at Helga’s heartstrings. Turning from Arnold she reaches out and puts a hand on Phillip for reassurance. 

“Aww, there, there, little man, your mommy is still here. She just got distracted by your daddy is all. I’m not going anywhere.”

Arnold lays his head on Helga’s chest and looks to the other side of her where his son lay.

“If he weren’t sick I’d say his baby radar was going off again, keeping his daddy away from his mommy.”

“Hmmm, do you see your baby as competition for my affections?” Helga raises an eyebrow at him.

“Yep.” Arnold says, “and I ain’t afraid to admit it.” He smiles and buries his face into her cleavage giving her a small nibble.

They sit together quietly talking, as they keep an eye on Phillip. The night goes on with their baby continually going from fussing to sleep. Eventually, sometime around three in the morning his fever breaks for good and all three Shortman’s are able to get a good six hours of uninterrupted sleep.


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we get into the next chapter I would like to take a moment to thank a fellow Hey Arnold fan Metalheadrailfan for giving me the great honor of choosing my little story here to create some fantastic fan art. The chapters that were chosen were Chapter 11 where Arnold and Helga are eating cereal for their dinner, and chapter 40 where Helga goes all fangirl and tries to talk Arnold into cosplaying Star and Marco. I would like to invite you now to check out his Deviantart page so you can check out his other great pictures, and maybe leave him a like or two. You can find them here:  
> deviantart/art/Cereal-For-Dinner-717634717   
> I think the cutest part of the art is where he had Helga dress up Phil as Tom!!!!! Sooooo dang cute!!! Okay, having said all that, lets get on with the story……….

Helga wakes up to the sound of Phillip crying. He’s lying in the bassinet that still sits by her side of the bed. She’s currently wrapped up in Arnold’s arms as he sleeps cuddled up to her and has to carefully wiggle out of his embrace so as not to wake him. It’s cold in the old, drafty, house and she grabs her old worn robe, slipping it on for warmth. Feeling Phillip’s forehead she can tell that he’s still slightly fevered. Picking him up, she takes him to the nursery to retake his temperature. It’s still hovering around the 99 degree mark, but she’s at least relieved that it never spiked back up during the night. 

Mad at expecting food, but instead being greeted with a cold stick put up his bum, Phillip begins to wail. Helga can tell that this is his “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore” yell and gives him a little chuckle.

“Oh, you’re alright little man, no need to bust a gut screaming. Mommy has your breakfast right here.”

She offers Phillip her breast and he latches on. After every third or so suckle he gives a little irritated grunt, just to let his mommy know that he is not amused.

His body is still trying its best to fight off the germs that are running through it right now, so after he’s had his fill, he drifts off to a sound sleep. Helga lays him in his crib and, picking up her end of the baby monitor, heads back to bed.

She does her best to carefully crawl back into the bed, but her feet are cold and when she snuggles into Arnold in an effort to warm up, they shock him awake. Giving a little start, he half opens his eyes to see her looking right back at him.

“Gggmmrrnin.” He says as he closes his eyes again.

Helga gives a little chuckle. “What was that?”

He’s woken up a bit more and repeats what he said.

“I said good morning.”

She reaches out, running her fingers through his bed headed hair.

“Oh, well, good morning to you, too.” She places a kiss on his nose.

Reaching out, he pulls her right up against him.

“How’s Phillip?” He questions as he starts nibbling her neck just above her shoulder.

She tilts her chin up a bit, giving him more room to nibble.

“His temperature is still right around the 99 degree mark, and he was a bit grumbly, but I think he’s okay. I do think we should call the doctor again, though, since he’s not 100% back to normal.”

He’s slipped her nightgown off as she spoke and is now busy trailing his kisses down to her chest. She continues to run her fingers through his hair, one leg roams up and down his side.

“Okay,” He says through a mouthful of breast, “I’ll call when we get up.”

She reaches down, sliding his pajama bottoms down his legs. Wrapping his arms around her, he flips onto his back, pulling her on top of him. She can feel him hard beneath her as she straddles him. Moving her hips she glides up and down the length of him, warming him, but not letting him in. His breath is hot as he moans in her ear. She’s teases him, quickly pulling away each time he starts to enter her. He’s not sure if it’s the pulling away, or the giggles he hears each time she does it that frustrates him more. Finally having enough, he grabs her hips, holding her in place and with one quick thrust he disappears into her, causing her to throw her head back, releasing a loud gasp.

“I’ll teach you to tease me.” He says as he continues to hold her in place. With each thrust up she grinds down on him. They begin to move in unison as she rides him fast and hard. After a few minutes he slows the pace and they savor each other. She’s warm and snug, her body massaging him as she slowly pulls herself up to the very tip of him. The cold air makes him shiver as it meets his exposed, wet flesh. 

A familiar throbbing begins to build deep within her and she begins to pick the pace back up. Taking his que from her, his thrusts become hard and fast again. Her throbbing starts to build, spreading through her body. Throwing her head back she arches her back, her full breasts sitting high and firm. Never being the quiet type, the room fills with the sound of her voice as she shouts out as each wave of her orgasm shoots through her body. 

Knowing that he’s pleased her adds to his excitement. He flips her over to her stomach and, pulling her hips towards him, reenters her from behind. He grabs a handful of her hair, causing her head to tilt backwards. His other hand holds onto her for support. He’s rough as he slams into her and she likes it. Letting go of her hair he uses both hands to pull her into him as he pushes forward. She wraps her arms around his pillow, and he can hear her muffled moans as she comes for a second time. This time it’s too much for him, he can’t hold out any longer. With a shout of his own he releases inside of her, and he doesn’t stop until his knees grow weak. Falling forward, he lays with her under him, sandwiching her between his body and the mattress. 

He slides his body a bit to one side to avoid crushing her, and there they stay. As their breathing slows and their bodies regain their strength, they peacefully doze in and out of a light sleep. 

xxxxx

 

Eventually, he feels the urge to pee and regretfully rolls away from the warmth of her body. She watches his butt as he walks out of the bedroom and smiles over how cute it is to her. Suddenly craving coffee, she puts her nightgown and robe back on and heads to the kitchen where he joins her a few minutes later. He walks up behind her as she fills two mugs with coffee, slipping his arms around her waist. She leans back into him and smiles.

“I do have to say,” she says as she turns to him, handing him a mug of coffee, “I like the way you wake up in the morning.”

“That’s just because I like what I have waiting for me when I wake up.” He gives her a wink as he sits down at the kitchen table.

They chat happily as Helga whips up a batch of scrambled eggs and toast. Placing two full plates of food on the table, she sits down and reminds Arnold to call the doctor.

He dials the number and, with it being a Sunday, once again gets the answering service. Like last time they are told that a doctor will get back in touch with them within the next 15 minutes. As they sit and wait, Helga finally has a chance to tell Arnold about her running into Tonya and Denise at Slausen’s.

“Helga,” Arnold says with a bit of a warning, “I don’t know if we should go meddling into these kid’s lives.”

“Well, you’re the school counselor, isn’t it your job to be aware of any kids that might be having problems at home as well as school?”

“Yeah, but that’s if the problems are affecting the kids in any way. I know this Tonya. She’s an A student and has a nice circle of friends.”

“That may be, but I think her troubles run deeper than grades and friends. I see a lot of myself at that age in her, and you know how messed up I was. If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know where I’d be right now.”

“Well, if, and I mean IF, she comes to you completely on her own, and after school hours, then perhaps it wouldn’t hurt for you and her to be friends. I just don’t know how involved I should be. After all, she is a young girl and all and I don’t want there to be any kind of trouble or gossip to have to worry about.”

“Fair enough. I won’t try to contact her. It will all be up to her.”

With the matter settled the subject moves on to their two best friends.

“So, have you spoken to Phoebe lately?” Arnold asks.

“I spoke to her a couple of days ago.”

“How’s she doing?”

“Okay I guess. She still sounds really sad and hasn’t yet made up her mind about her and Gerald. I have put in a good word or two for the guy though.”

“Yeah? I’m sure he’ll appreciate that.”

Arnold’s phone starts to ring. They had almost forgotten they were expecting a call. He answers it and after a few minutes with the doctor they have their instructions in regards to Little Phil.

“So?” Helga asks, “What’s the deal?”

“The doctor said that as long as we can keep his fever at 99 or below he can wait until tomorrow to go see his regular doctor. But, if it goes up at all, or if he develops any new symptoms, we shouldn’t wait, and should take him to the ER.”

“Okay, I’ll call first thing tomorrow then while you’re at work.”

As they continue to eat, Helga remembers a phone call she got the day before.

“Oh, hey, did I tell you? Rhonda is going to be back in Hillwood for a couple of weeks around Christmas. She said she’s thinking of throwing one of her old blow out holiday parties on New Year’s Eve. Just the old gang and a few of her friends.”

Arnold raises an eyebrow. “Wow, a Rhonda Wellington Lloyd classic, huh? It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, I know. It sounds like fun. I bet we could get Bob and Miriam to come over and watch Phil. They can stay the night in one of the spare rooms so we don’t have to worry about staying out too late.”

“Well, count me in then. It’d be nice if Phoebe can be in town for it. It might be a good opportunity for her and Gerald to spend some time together.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Helga agrees. “Maybe it would bring up the old memories, get Phoebe thinking about how much they’ve been through.”

A cry comes over the baby monitor and Helga gets up to head to the nursery.

“It’s about time he woke up to eat, my breasts are about to explode they’re so full.”

Arnold calls after her jokingly. “You trying to turn me on with that kind of talk?”

Her voice grows faint as she runs up the stairs. “Dude, you’re so horny all I have to do is look at you and you’re at full mast.”

He chuckles as he gets up and pours himself a second mug of coffee.

xxxxx

Later that day, Tonya drags Denise behind her as they look for a place to have lunch. The two girls had taken this Sunday afternoon to do a little Christmas shopping and were now quite hungry. They pass by a restaurant that would normally be above their price range, but Tonya’s cousin, Rachel, had recently gotten a waitressing job there and Tonya was hoping to cash in on her employee discount.

Denise is a little apprehensive as Tonya pulls her inside. “I don’t know, Tonya, what if your cousin can’t use her family discount on us, I don’t know if I can afford this place.”

“Don’t worry, Denise, she said stop in anytime she’s working.” Scanning the restaurant, she spots Rachel. “Look, there she is.”

Tonya waves her cousin over to her.

“Tonya, hey, you made it.” 

“Yeah, is that family discount offer still good?”

“Sure. Just wait a bit and I’ll get you a booth in my section.”

After a brief conversation with the hostess the girls are led to a quiet booth towards the back of the restaurant. The backs of the booths are tall, reaching to just below the tops of their heads. The restaurant is relatively quiet for the time of day and conversation between the restaurant’s patrons is low. The girls scan the menus that lay open before them, trying to find something that, even with the discount, fits within their budget.

The girls place their order, and as they sit and wait, Denise notices a familiar face as she slides into the booth behind Tonya. She lowers her voice so the person doesn’t hear her.

“Hey, Tonya.” She whispers. “Isn’t that Ms Pearson sitting in the next booth?”

Tonya cranes her neck to get a glimpse, but only sees the top of her head.

“I don’t know, maybe. Hold on.”

Tonya proceeds to “accidentally” drop her napkin onto the floor. Sliding partially out of the booth she looks behind her as she picks it up. Sitting back up, she looks at Denise.

“Yeah, that’s her. Looks like she’s waiting for someone. I wonder who it is.”

“I bet its Mr. Cooper.” Denise says, feeling pretty sure of herself.

“The drama teacher? No!”

“Yeah. Heather said she saw the two of them leave school together one day after drama club. She said they looked pretty chummy.”

They hear a phone go off in Amanda’s booth. Sitting very quietly they try to listen in. Unfortunately they can only hear her end of the conversation, but it’s enough to let them know that something’s up.

“Hello? Oh hey, girl, what’s up?”

“Oh yeah, you’d better believe I’m not done with him. I have a plan to get back at him by using that chick I told you about.”

Tonya and Denise look at each other wondering who the “chick” is.

There’s a brief moment of silence before Amanda starts talking again, and, being the resourceful person that she is, Tonya pulls out her phone. She goes into the camera and hits the “record video” button and very carefully holds the phone up so Amanda’s profile can be seen as she talks. Tonya prays that Amanda does not turn her head, or notice something is up through her peripheral vision. In full stealth mode now, she starts to record Amanda’s conversation, thinking it could come in handy for future use.

“All I really know about her is she’s the wife of another teacher at Hillwood. I told you about him, no, his name is Arnold, remember, the hunk with the blonde hair and georgous green eyes? Yeah, him. Ha, yeah, and get this, her name is Helll-Gaaa. Who names their child Helga? Sounds like a character straight out of the story Heidi. Yeah, she’s his girlfriend’s best friend.”

At the mention of Helga’s name Denise starts to give out a gasp. Tonya quickly motions for her to be quiet.

“Well, I’m hoping to be able to dig up some information on her and this tight little clique they’ve got going on, to see just what I’m dealing with. The only thing I know for sure is that she’s Arnold’s wife and the two of them grew up with Gerald and his girlfriend. Other than the fact that she was a bully growing up I don’t know anything else about them.”

Another moment of quiet as Amanda listens to her friend speak.

“Hopefully I’ll get the information I want. That guy I’ve been seeing, Travis, well apparently his sister went all through school with Helga so I’m hoping to pump her for useful information. Yeah, I’m meeting Travis right now for lunch. By the time we’re done eating I’m hoping to have his sister’s number. Yeah, I’m going to use the excuse that I want to get to know her better since I’m dating her brother, you know, play it as wanting to get to know the family and stuff. Yeah, and if I can’t get anything good on Helga well then I’m just going to have to continue going after Arnold himself.”

There’s another moment of silence as Amanda listens to her friend.

“I told you why I’m doing this, if Gerald thinks he can just use me then throw me aside he’s got another thing coming to him. I can’t directly mess with his girlfriend, but I can mess with those closest to him. And if things work out like I think they should, his girlfriend will blame him causing an even deeper riff between them. Oh, hey, here comes Travis now, I have to go. Yeah, okay, I’ll let you know how it goes. Okay, bye.”

Tonya hits the stop button on her phone then whispers to Denise.

“That Bitch! Did you hear what she said?”

“Yeah,” Denise whispers back, “What are you going to do with that recording?”

“I don’t know yet. I need to think about it. I need to decide who to talk to first, Ms Pearson or Mrs. Shortman.”

Denise looks apprehensively at Tonya. “I don’t know, Tonya, maybe its best if you stay out of this. Ms Pearson is your teacher. If you piss her off she can make life difficult for you.”

“Heh, I ain’t worried about that. Not with what I have sitting on my phone. Come on, we’ve gotta get out of here.”

Asking Rachel to pack up their food in a doggie bag, they pay their bill and take the long way around the restaurant floor in an effort to not be seen by Amanda. Once safely outside, they discuss their next course of action as they walk to Tonya’s house. 

Tonya walks like a woman on a mission as she mulls over her choices as to what to do with the video that sits on her phone.

“I think the first thing I’ll do is send you a copy, then email myself one too, for backup.”

Denise has to walk at a slight jog in order to keep pace with her friend. “That’s a good idea.” She says as she huffs along.

“I’m also thinking that maybe I should just sit on the video for a while. You know, give Ms Pearson enough rope to hang herself on. Let her go along with her little plan then, BAM, pull out the video.”

“I don’t know, why wait? If you wait too long things could get messy for Mr. and Mrs. Shortman.”

“Yeah, I’ve thought of that too, but, I think the video would have more impact if Ms Pearson was actually caught enacting the little scheme she actually confessed to.”

Denise still is skeptical. “You know, is that video even valid, she didn’t know she was being filmed. Can it be considered entrapment or something?”

“What the heck do you think this is, a court of law? It’s Hillwood High, I think we’ll be fine. Yeah, I think we should just keep a close eye on things, you know, hang in the background. Then when the time is right, we strike.”

“Whatever you say, Tonya.”

A smile spreads across Tonya’s face as her plan runs through her head. “Yeah, whatever I say.”


	43. Chapter 43

It was a rough night at the Shortman household. Phillip’s ear infection was still bothering him, causing him to wake up every three hours or so as the Tylenol Helga kept giving him would wear off. With Arnold having to be up early for work Helga didn’t want him waking up every time Phillip could be heard over the baby monitor, so that is why she chose to sleep up in Arnold’s old room, with Phillip in the bassinet right next to the bed. 

She sits propped up feeding Little Phil, and gazes out the skylights above her as twilight begins to take over the nighttime sky. She watches as slowly the stars fade one by one and the sky, which is at first a deep midnight blue, lightens turning from navy to denim. It’s cold outside and a light frost sits along the four sides of each glass panel. Part of the roof can be seen through the glass and her mind casts back to when they were kids. She can see the ghostly figures that are conjured up by the memory of her and Arnold and the gang when they were no more than nine or ten. That was when the piano that currently sits on the roof came to be. It was placed there when his grandmother had miscalculated her measurements and, without meaning to, bought a piano that was too big to fit through any door or window of the boarding house. 

At first Arnold was embarrassed at the fact that there was a piano on his roof, but as time went by it became a novelty and proved to be an asset whenever he’d hold one of his rooftop parties. When they were younger it was Gertie who would play to entertain his friends, but, as Gerald’s musical talent grew, he eventually took over. She smiles at the good times they all had together. Her family life may not have been the best growing up, but one thing she did have were friends. She may not always have gotten along with them, but in a pinch, she’d have their backs and they, in turn, had hers. It was an unspoken rule of the urban streets they grew up on. They lived by the old “All for one and one for all” credo. It was a way of survival and the reason they are still, to this day, a tight knit group. 

She hears the faint sound of Arnold’s alarm clock as it goes off and, getting out of bed, carries a grumpy Phillip down the stairs and into their bedroom. When she enters the room she notices that Arnold had rolled back over after turning off the alarm. Walking up to the bed, she places Phillip down next to him and then sits down herself. Feeling the movement on the bed, Arnold opens one eye and smiles as he scoots closer to his son. 

“Hey, buddy.” Arnold softly says to Phillip. “How’s my little guy doing this morning?”

Speaking for Phillip, Helga says, “Grumpy.”

“Aww, he not sleep well again?” Arnold asks as he props his head up on his hand, his other hand gently rubbing Phillips tummy.

“No. He was up every few hours or so again. It’s got to be his ear, the poor guy.”

Arnold sits up now, giving Helga a good morning kiss. 

“You didn’t have to sleep up in my old room you know.”

“I know, but you have work today, so I wanted you to be able to sleep uninterrupted.”

He kisses her cheek then leans back against the headboard of the bed, lacing his fingers together and stretching his arms out above his head.

“Well thank you for thinking of me, but I missed having you in bed with me.”

“What you mean is you missed your bed warmer.” Helga teased.

“Hey,” He says, “You said that, not me! Let it go on record that I, Arnold P. Shortman, did NOT use the term, ‘bed warmer’”. 

“Whatever you say, Arnoldo. Come on, get up or you’re going to be late. I’ll start the coffee.”

Taking Phillip with her, she heads to the kitchen. With Phillip cradled in one arm, she proceeds to work one handed as she sets up the coffee maker. It’s finally fully light outside now and she peers out the window that hangs over the kitchen sink. The sky is cloudless but there is a fine layer of snow that must have fallen during the night. It looks cold out there and she’s going to have to make sure Phillip is bundled up good for his trip to the doctor. 

By the time the coffee maker signals the end of the brew cycle, Arnold has made his way downstairs. Helga stands at the stove, stirring a pot of quick oats.

“I hope you don’t mind oatmeal for breakfast, it’s so cold this morning I thought it’d be a good belly warmer.”

He pops some bread into the toaster as he answers her. “Sounds good to me, so long as we have brown sugar to go with it.”

“Don’t worry, I know how you like your cereal, nice and sweet. Sheesh, and you get down on me for having a sweet tooth.”

He gives her a side glance through narrowed eyes. “Now, there’s a difference between liking a little brown sugar in your hot cereal and eating a whole box of mini sugared donuts.” 

“Hey, I only eat those when I feel a mid-afternoon slump coming on.”

He raises an eyebrow at her. “Mid-afternoon? How about late morning, early evening, midnight snack slumps too?”

“Okay, okay, you got me. Mini sugared donuts are good any time of day, criminy.”

They sit eating their breakfast as Phillip watches them contentedly from his carrier. Whenever their attention wanders from him for too long he gives out a squawk, drawing their eyes back to him. He rewards their obedience with a gurgle of bubbles that ooze down his chin.

When he’s done eating Arnold takes his dishes to the sink then gives Helga a quick kiss. Wiping Phillip’s bubbly chin, he kisses his forehead then rushes out the door. As he runs down the steps he greets their mailman Harvey as he walks through the light cover of snow to complete his rounds.

“I hate the cold, I hate the snow.” He repeats to himself as he walks. Finally looking up he sees Arnold.

“Hey, Arnold, cold enough for you this morning?”

“Yeah, Harvey, it is. If you’ve got the time I’m sure Helga wouldn’t mind warming you up with a cup of hot coffee.”

“I appreciate the thought, Arnold, but I can’t deviate from my appointed rounds. Thanks for the offer though.”

“Anytime. Have a good day.”

“You too.” Harvey waves as he continues to walk, repeating once more, “I hate the cold, I hate the snow……….”

xxxxx

Once at work Arnold hits the teacher’s lounge before heading to his office. He enters the room to find its only occupant to be none other than Amanda. “Just what I need to start my day.” He thinks to himself as he heads for the coffee pot where, of course, Amanda has taken up residence.

“Well look who it is.” Amanda says, giving Arnold a smile. 

“Hey, Amanda.” Arnold says, hoping to avoid conversation.

“Cold enough out there for you?” She says as she nonchalantly moves in a little closer, blocking the sugar she knows he always goes for.

“Uh, yeah, it sure is.” He starts to reach for the sugar, his arm slightly brushing her side and he stops. “Um, do you mind?” He says, motioning towards the sugar.

“Hmm? Oh, here.” She picks up the cup with the sugar packets, and holds it out to him.

“Uh, thanks.” He takes two packets and turns his back towards her as he empties them into his cup.

“Anytime – Arnold.” Her voice is deep and throaty. She lets her shoulder brush his arm as she heads for the door. As she opens it she comes face to face with Travis. Thinking quickly, she puts a nervous expression on her face.

He calls her by a pet name he has given her. “Hey, good morning Mandy.” Noticing the look on her face, he grows concerned. “Is something wrong?”

She stands in the hall with the door to her back. She gives him a flustered response. “Umm, no, no. Nothing’s wrong, everything’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I have to go. I’ll – I’ll catch you later.” She rushes past him and heads towards her classroom.

Travis wonders what’s gotten into her as he opens the door. Stepping into the room he sees Arnold at the coffee maker. Arnold turns and gives him a smile and is about to greet him when Travis storms up to him.

“What happened in here with you and Amanda?” He says, a bit demanding.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I just ran into Amanda as she was coming out of here. She looked upset. Did you do something to upset her?”

“What? NO! Why on earth would you think that?”

“Well, she comes out of the room, obviously upset about something, and I come in here to find you by yourself, no one else around. Who else would have upset her?”

“Hey, all I did was come in here for a cup of coffee. I barely said two words to her. If she’s upset about something it has nothing to do with me, so just back off.”

Knowing deep in his heart that Arnold is a good guy, he doesn’t press the matter, but the threads of doubt begin to take a deeper root in the back of his mind.

“Alright, I’m sorry for jumping on you like that. We good?”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re good. I gotta go. I’ll see ya.”

Arnold walks out the door and heads to his office. As he walks down the hall he passes Amanda’s classroom. He looks through the door’s window as he walks by. She catches him out of the corner of her eye as he passes by. The corners of her mouth turn up slightly as she continues to talk to her students.

Tonya sits in the front row of her class. She notices Amanda’s eyes as they ever so slightly glance towards the door. Following her gaze she sees Mr. Shortman walk past. She looks back towards her teacher, her hand resting on the phone that sits tucked away in the pocket of her jeans.

xxxxx

When Phillip turned a month old it was time for Helga and Arnold to pick out a pediatrician for him. After careful consideration, and much debate, the couple decided on Dr. Bernie Steiglitz. He is grandson of Dr. Murray Steiglitz, who finally handed his practice over to his grandson after over 80 years of doctoring. There isn’t one person in their circle of family and friends that hasn’t, at one time or another, been a patient of the good doctor before he retired. Everything from Gerald’s tonsils to Phoebe’s broken leg was taken care of by him and they decided if the senior Dr. Steiglitz was good enough for them, then his grandson must be good enough to trust their son to. He even practices out of the same office at the Drymon Clinic as his grandfather did, and the familiar surroundings bring a bit of comfort to Helga as she sits and waits for Phillip’s appointment. Olga has come along with her for company and the two sisters sit and talk quietly, Phillip cradled comfortably in his Auntie Olga’s arms. 

They’re not there long when they hear Phillip’s name being called. Helga takes her son from Olga and she follows the nurse to the exam room, where she’s instructed to remove everything but the boy’s diaper. By the time she’s done, Young Dr. Steiglitz, she and Arnold have added the ‘Young’ to his name so as not to confuse him with his grandfather, ‘Old’ Dr. Steiglitz, has entered the room. Smiling, he greets Helga with a warm hello.

“Well, Mrs. Shortman, it’s good to see you. So I hear Little Phillip here isn’t feeling too well.”

“Yeah, he came down with a pretty high fever on Saturday. We were able to get it to go down, but he’s still not 100%.”

The good doctor runs his hands down Phillips body, checking things like muscle tone and reflexes. He listens to his heart and chest before finally taking his otoscope and checking out the ears.

“Oh, yeah, I see the problem.” The doctor says as he checks the other ear. “It’s an ear infection alright.”

He puts the otoscope back down on the instrument tray and walks over to the sink to wash his hands. 

“It doesn’t look too bad, though. It should clear up with just a light dose of antibiotics. Once he’s taken them for a full 24 hours his fever should go away for good too.”

Relieved, Helga gives her son a kiss on the cheek then starts to put his clothes back on him.

“Should we still give him his Tylenol along with the antibiotics?” Helga asks.

“No, I think we should let the body do its job and as long as the fever doesn’t go any higher I’d say hold off on the medicine. But, if it goes back up at all, start giving it to him again and call my office. I want to see him back in two weeks regardless, though, just to make sure he’s back to full health.”

“Okay, thank you Dr. Steiglitz.”

“No problem at all Mrs. Shortman.” As he speaks he walks to the counter by the sink, and reaching into a drawer, pulls out a roll of stickers. He rips one off and places it on Phillip’s shirt. It’s a picture of a cartoon cat with the words, “I Was a Purrrrfect Patient” surrounding it.

Helga giggles at how cute Little Phillip is and snaps a picture of him with her phone, texting it to Arnold.

Once back at the boarding house, Helga attempts to give Phillip his first dose of medicine. Luckily for her it has a sweet, bubblegum flavor to it and Phillip takes it without much fuss. Taking her nephew from his mother, Olga feeds him a bottle as she once again walks Helga through the steps of making Arnold another home cooked meal. This time its Cornish game hens in a sweet honey-orange sauce, with wild rice and green beans almandine. Helga painstakingly follows each verbal instruction step by step and by the time Arnold returns home from work he is greeted with a pretty good rendition of Olga’s favorite meal. 

xxxxx

He can tell as he walks into the boarding house that Helga was back at cooking again. The aroma of roasted poultry fills the air, causing his stomach to give a loud grumble. Following his nose he catches her in the kitchen as she sets the table for two. 

“Mmmmm,” He says as he takes a deep sniff in. “Whatever you’re cooking smells delicious.”

Gesturing to the stove where the mini chickens sit, she smiles proudly.

“They’re Cornish game hens. Olga gave me another cooking lesson after we got back from the doctor.”

He steals a green bean, munching as he talks. 

“Oh, that’s right. So what was the verdict? An ear infection like we thought?”

“Yep, just like we figured.”

“We didn’t do too badly, I guess we’re starting to get the hang of this whole parenting business.” He removes the lid that covers the pot of rice and peeks inside, once again pleasantly surprised.

They sit down to a dinner of slightly dry game hens and green beans that are just a tad bit over cooked, with Arnold gushing the whole time over how delicious everything is.


	44. Chapter 44

Wednesday morning comes in just the same as the last two days. Gray and cold, with a layer of snow on the ground. Amanda sits at a small table sipping on a hot mug of coffee as she looks out the window. Growing up in a house filled with kids, there was never a dull moment, but now, sitting alone in her quiet apartment, she feels the loneliness start to creep back up on her. 

Walking into her bedroom to get dressed for the day, she picks up an old, worn shirt that lays draped across the back of a chair. It’s one of Gerald’s that he had unintentionally left there one day when he was over helping her move some new furniture up to her apartment. He had worn it over a T-shirt and the exertion of moving furniture had made him hot and sweaty, so he took it off in an effort to cool down, forgetting it when he left. She picks up the shirt now and holds it up to her face. The worn fabric is soft on her cheek and when she buries her nose in it she can pick up the faint scent of his cologne. Again that night on her couch runs through her mind. The memory of his soft lips, and the saltiness of his skin as she ran her tongue across his neck deepens the chip in her heart that was placed there when he later told her it was over between them. 

Her momentary sadness is quickly pushed aside and replaced once again with anger. An anger not just directed at Gerald, but also at herself. How could she have been so foolish as to let this man creep into her heart, and why is it so hard for her to push the thoughts of him out? If she had a rational side it would tell her to just forget it and move on, but she can’t do that. Not until she’s had the final laugh.

Walking to her closet she tries to decide what to wear. She’s finally going to have that meeting with Travis’s sister tonight and doesn’t want to wear anything threatening to the girl’s self-esteem. She chooses a pair of loose fitting pants with a wool sweater, something to hide her curves and hopefully make her come across as just one of the girl’s, out for a night of female bonding and gossip. Looking in the mirror she’s happy with what she sees. She grabs her purse as she heads out the door, anxious to get the work day over with.

xxxxx

Arnold is in a bit of a hurry as he rushes to get dressed. Dunn has asked to meet him in his office before school starts, in an attempt to make up the meeting he missed the other day when he met Helga for lunch, and he didn’t want to be late. He had been loitering on Dunn’s bad side lately and he really didn’t want to tick him off any more than he already has. Rushing downstairs he gives Helga a kiss on the cheek as he reaches for a coffee mug. After filling the mug he pops a bagel into the toaster and rummages through the fridge for the butter.

With his head in the refrigerator he asks, “Hey, have you seen the butter?”

“Well, good morning to you, too.” Helga says. She points towards the table. “It’s on the table with the jelly. What’s got you in such a rush this morning?”

“I have a meeting with Dunn before school starts and I don’t want to be late. I swear that man’s got it out for me, and I really need to get back on his good side.”

“Eh, you know Dunn is nothing but hot air. Besides, maybe if you and Gerald stopped playing your little gags on him he’d be nicer to you.”

“Hey, we haven’t played one practical joke on him yet this year. Besides, we can’t help it if it’s so easy to get a reaction out of him.”

Helga smiles as she shakes her head at him. “I swear, you two need to grow up when it comes to Dunn.”

“Aww, deep down you know he loves it. Just think how boring his job would be if he didn’t have the two of us there.”

“Well, you two keep it up and that school will have neither of you there. Now, what do you want for breakfast?”

Just as Helga asks the question Arnold’s bagel pops up from the toaster.

“No time for a sit down breakfast today, the bagel’s going to have to do until lunch.” He quickly butters his breakfast and wraps it up in a napkin.

He gives Helga a quick kiss before grabbing his briefcase and rushing out the door. Helga yells after him.

“Be careful driving, it’s icy out there!” 

He turns the key in the ignition and the old Packard gives a little sputter before coming to life. It’s something that’s been happening more and more lately and Arnold keeps saying he’s going to have it looked at, but never does. 

He gets about a mile from the boarding house when he hits some road work that’s being done on a stretch of the street. Because of this, traffic is detoured, causing Arnold to have to take a longer, more roundabout way to work. He grumbles as he drives, already worried about missing yet another meeting with Dunn when all of a sudden the Packard starts to sputter and lurch.

“Oh great!” He yells to no one in particular as he is forced to pull the car over and park it. After letting the engine rest for a bit he tries to start it back up. With a grind and a sputter the engine goes completely dead. He curses himself now for not having the car fixed earlier. Knowing only the very basics of auto repair, he doesn’t even try to look at the engine to see what’s wrong. 

Looking at his watch, he has a decision to make. He can either, call a tow truck and have the driver take him, along with the car, to the mechanic, or he can leave the car there and deal with the problem after work. Either choice is going to make him miss his morning meeting. He figures that he is about three miles, give or take, from the high school. It’s a trek, but not one that should take him too long to make, so he gathers up the stuff he will need for work and starts to hoof it in the direction of the school. 

xxxxx

The traffic is slow as Amanda drives into work. It amazes her how, no matter where in the U.S. you live, you always run into roadwork. Her mind wanders as she slowly follows the cars in front of her when out of the corner of her eye she spots a familiar, green car. Looking more closely she realizes that it is definitely Arnold’s Packard. Keeping her eyes peeled as she drives, she finally sees him walking briskly down the sidewalk. Pulling her car up past him, she parks and gets out. It’s no coincidence that she chose to park her car on the street, directly in front of the Hillwood Motor Lodge. She stands by her car now, as she waits for him to catch up to her.

He walks with his head down, unaware of his surroundings, anxious to get to the school before the first bell, when he hears a familiar voice.

“Going green this morning I see. You trying to lessen your carbon footprint or something?”

He stops and looks up. “Oh, uh, hi, Amanda. No, uh, my car decided to break down a ways back and I wanted to get to the school before the first bell so I started walking.”

“Well, I’d say it’s a good thing I came by then.” She motions towards her car. “Hop in, I’ll drive you the rest of the way.”

Knowing that there was no way in hell he was getting into a car with Amanda, let alone be seen exiting such car on school grounds, he politely declines her offer.

“Oh, no, that’s okay, I don’t want to trouble you. Besides, I could use the exercise.”

As Amanda tries to persuade Arnold to let her give him a ride she places a hand on his shoulder. As they continue their conversation they are oblivious to the traffic that passes them by, so they don’t notice as Sally Abernathy gawks at them out her window. She notices that they are just outside the motor lodge and her imagination begins to go wild, and she’s suddenly very anxious to get to work.

After another minute or two of trying, Amanda gives up and heads to her car.

“You’re sure, right? This is your last chance.” She says as she opens the driver’s side door.

“No, no, I’m sure.” He says. “But thanks, anyway.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Amanda takes off for the high school, just a few minutes behind Sally.

xxxxx

There’s a good twenty minutes before the start of classes and Tonya sits in the school library as she waits for the last member of her little posse to arrive. She’s asked permission to use one of the semi-soundproof study rooms under the guise of doing some last minute cramming with her study group before classes start. Once the last member has arrived, Tonya shuts the door and turns to face the group.

It’s a small group consisting of only the closest, most trusted members of her friends. As the girls chatter among themselves Tonya clears her throat to get their attention.

“Okay ladies, if we can all stop talking for a minute here that’d be great.” She says with a hint of authority to her voice.

Annoyed at being summoned to this meeting without any explanation, Gina is quick to bring up what the other girls are thinking.

“Tell us oh gracious leader, what’s so important that you made us loose precious sleep just so we could get to school so early for this meeting?”

“Yeah,” fellow member, Abby speaks up, “You made it sound like someone’s life was in danger. What gives?”

The fifth and final member of the group motions to the girls to be quiet. “Shut up and let Tonya talk, will ya.”

“Thank you, Heather.” Tonya says as she nods her head towards Denise.

“I’ve called you here because of some very interesting information Denise and I came across this weekend. Now you would all agree that as far as teachers go, Mr. Shortman and Mr. Johanssen are pretty cool, right?”

The girls all look at each other, nodding their heads in agreement.

“Oh, as if we don’t already know this.” Gina says with a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

Tonya ignores the outburst. “So then, if either of them were in any kind of trouble, you’d want to help them, right?”

Again the group nods in agreement.

“Good, that’s just what I was hoping to hear.” A smile forms on Tonya’s face and she proceeds to fill the girls in on what happened over the weekend at her cousin’s restaurant. She plays the video for them as further proof of Amanda’s plan to mess with their two favorite teachers. Afterwards the girls are filled with questions.

“I knew I didn’t like that Ms Pearson!” Heather exclaims.

“Just what do you plan on doing with the video? You gonna go to Dunn with it?” Abby asks.

Tonya shakes her head. “No, not right away. I think I’m going to sit on it for a while and see what happens.”

Gina gives Tonya a confused look. “Why sit on it? Won’t that just cause more trouble for Mr. Shortman and Mr. Johanssen?”

Tonya tries her best to explain. “Because, what if Ms Pearson was just blowing hot air to her friend, you know, talking big. Besides, she can always say that she was just bragging and never really planned to do anything. She is still our teacher, if we jump the gun she can make the rest of the school year a living hell for us.”

“I agree,” Denise pipes in, “We have to be very careful how we approach this. The last thing we need is to get suspended for causing trouble to one of the teachers.”

“Okay, so then what’s your plan?” Gina’s curiosity begins to get the better of her.

“Well,” Tonya starts, “This is where you all come in. What’s the one thing all our schedules have in common?”

Puzzled, the girls look at each other as they compare schedules. Finally a light bulb goes off above Heather’s head.

“I know, we all at some point in the day, work in the attendance office right outside of Dunn’s office, right?”

Tonya points one finger at Heather as she touches the tip of her nose with the other. “BINGO!” She yells.

“Think about it, other than the teacher’s lounge, that’s the best place to pick up any gossip. Every teacher passes through there to get to their mail boxes or to get any messages that may have been dropped off for them. If anything’s being talked about, you can bet that’s one of the places they’ll be doing it.”

Abby raises her hand as if she were in class. “Oh! And another thing, it’s the perfect spot to see just who goes in and out of Principal Dunn’s office!”

“Right!” Tonya says again. “So that’s your assignments, we each need to keep our eyes and ears peeled for any, and I mean ANY, gossip that goes in and out of that office.”

It gives the girls a thrill to be a part of such a covert mission and they swear that they will do anything to help their favorite teacher and guidance counselor. 

“One last thing.” Tonya says as the girls start to leave the room. “What was discussed at this meeting goes no further than the five of us, understood?”

“Got it, Boss.” Heather says as she gives Tonya a little salute before leaving the room.

xxxxx

Back at the boarding house Helga is surprised to receive a phone call from Arnold so early in the day. She picks the call up after the second ring.

“Hey, babe, what’s up? You sound out of breath. Does just the thought of me always make you breathe so heavily?”

“Hey, Helga, very funny. No. The Packard broke down a few miles from school. I had to walk the rest of the way. I need you to do me a favor if you can.”

“Anything for my biggest fan.”

Her response makes him smile. “I need you to go to the Packard and call a tow truck and then have the guy tow it to Artie’s Auto Repair, then come get me after school lets out.”

“I think I might be able to handle that. Are you going to call Artie’s ahead of time or do I need to follow the truck?”

“Naw, I’ll call them and tell them to expect it. You have your set of keys, right?”

“Yep. I was going to bring Phillip over to see Miriam today so I can leave him there while I take care of the car. What time do you want me there?”

“Well, school ends at 2:45, and barring no kids need me, I should be ready by 3.”

“Okay, but I have to warn you, if I do this you’re going to owe me one ya know.”

“Oh yeah? Well just what form of payment would you be expecting?”

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know later tonight. Deal?”

Arnold lets his mind explore the many possibilities as his smile widens and he answers with one word. “Deal!”

At that same time Gerald rushes into the teacher’s lounge so he can fill up his travel mug with fresh coffee. He sees Sally in deep conversation with one of the other teachers. Their voices are hushed and he wonders what they are talking about.


	45. Chapter 45

Helga wraps Little Phil up tight for his trip to grandma’s house. As she drives, she silently prays that she sees a clarity in Miriam’s eyes, letting her know it’s okay to leave her baby at the house. Her mother has been doing exceptionally well over the last month and a half but Helga knows that it’s still a one day at a time process. She’s proud of both her mom and her dad and how they’ve almost made a complete turnaround in their personalities. Bob has become so much easier to talk to, even going so far as to remembering her name a good 90% of the time. He’s even stopped calling Arnold by the name Alfred. 

Seeing the change in her family really makes her hope that Tonya will take her up on the offer she made of opening her home up to the girl. She so wishes that she had had someone at that age that she could have gone to, someone who had been there and was willing to share in their experiences. Someone to tell her that everything is going to turn out okay. 

There were times in elementary and early middle school when she seriously questioned life and her place in it. She cringes at the memory of those awkward years where she was too much of a tomboy to hang with the girls, yet too much of a girl for the boys to want her around. Even Phoebe, at times, would leave Helga on her own to go hang out at one of Rhonda’s girl fests. She never blamed Phoebe though, after all, it wouldn’t have been fair of her to deny the girl her chance at partaking in normal childhood experiences. 

She pulls her mind back to present time as she parks in front of her parent’s house. She’s determined to make it into the house in one trip so she loads her arms down with Phillip’s carrier, his diaper bag, her purse and another bag of miscellaneous supplies Miriam might need while she was away taking care of Arnold’s car. Reaching the top step she realizes she forgot to leave herself a free hand to open the door so has to resort to kicking it with her foot.

“Miriam! We’re here, let us in!” She yells, hoping her mom is in a part of the house where she can hear her shouts. After a bit she hears footsteps as they approach the other side of the door.

Miriam swings the door open, ushering her daughter and grandson inside.

“Oh Helga, come in, come in. It’s so good to see you two.” She says as she takes the carrier from Helga.

As Miriam grabs for the carrier Helga studies her eyes closely. “Yeah, it’s good to see you too, Phillip’s missed his grandma.” 

Seeing the sparkle that she was looking for, Helga deems Miriam safe and relaxes. 

“Oh Bob’s going to be so disappointed that he’s missed Phillip’s visit today but he has a meeting with a very important client that he just can’t get out of.”

The two ladies sit in the family room with Phillip snug in his grandma’s arms.

“Well, I’ll just have to bring Phil over sometime soon then. Um, speaking of soon, do you and Bob have any plans for New Year’s Eve?”

“No, not that I can think of, why?”

“Arnold and I have been invited to a party and we were wondering if maybe you guys would want to spend the night at the boarding house and watch Phillip for us. Sort of like a sleepover for grandparents.”

Miriam clasps her hands at her chest as she happily exclaims, “Oh that would be so lovely, I’m sure we’ll just have the best time.”

“That’s great!” Helga smiles, happy to have that settled.

xxxxx

Arnold sits at his desk, lost in work when he hears a knock at his door. Praying that it’s not Amanda he looks up as the door opens. A wave of relief washes over him when he sees that it’s just one of the kids that works in the attendance office. Abby, he believes her name is.

“Abby, right? What can I do for you?” He says through a sweet smile.

Her cheeks turn a bright pink as she stares into his green eyes and her voice is low as she talks.

“I have a note for you from Principal Dunn.” She shyly hands it out to him.

He gets up and walks over to her, taking the note. 

“Well thank you very much. So, how have things been going for you so far this year? You doing okay in your classes?”

Not expecting to be holding a whole conversation with him her blush deepens as she stutters over her words.

“Uh-uh-oh, things are going really w-well. I’m hoping to pull in all A’s this semester.”

“That’s wonderful, keep up the good work, and remember, my door’s always open if you have any questions about classes or colleges and such.”

She feels as if she’ll faint dead on the spot if she doesn’t leave his office soon so as she backs out she gives him a wave.

“Okay, Mr. Shortman, I’ll definitely remember. Bye!”

She turns and makes her way down the hall back to her appointed post in the attendance office as Arnold opens the note from Dunn.

“Mr. Shortman, having missed our morning meeting, I will expect you in my office right after school lets out. Please don’t be late. Principal Dunn”

“Great.” He thinks to himself. He’s going to have to let Helga know that he’s going to be late so he makes a mental note to try and remember to drop her a text before the day is out.

Not too long afterwards, the lunch bell rings and he makes his way over to Gerald’s class hoping to have company while he eats. As he walks down the hall he passes Sally and another teacher and doesn’t notice as their eyes follow his back as he walks past.

Reaching Gerald’s he looks in the door to see him at his desk.

“You breaking for lunch or what?” He says to his friend.

Gerald looks up from some tests that had just been collected. Placing them into his top drawer, he locks it as he gets up.

“I’m coming, I’m coming, keep your shirt on.”

As they walk they engage in light conversation.

“I saw you hoofing it in to work this morning. The old Packard finally croak on you?”

“It didn’t croak, it just took a well-deserved breather. Speaking of which, Do you think you could possibly give me a ride into work until it’s fixed? Helga can pick me up.”

“Sure, man. No problemo. So, uh, has Helga heard anything from Phoebe lately?”

“They text back and forth periodically. She hasn’t told me anything of any importance, though.”

Arnold looks at the sadness in Gerald’s eyes and he feels for his friend. Reaching out, he gives him a pat on his shoulder.

“Hey, I’m sorry, man. But, you know, you’re going to have to give her time.”

“Yeah, I know. But the waiting, it’s hard.”

“Yeah, but I have a feeling things are going to turn out okay. There’s no way she’ll leave you, she loves you too much.

“Heh, yeah. Let’s hope.”

After spending the whole lunch period listening to Gerald, once again, lament over how he’s messed things up with him and Phoebe, Arnold has forgotten to text Helga, letting her know of his meeting with Dunn. By the time school lets out he is beyond anxious to know what old Dunce wants with him now.

As he walks to his office he passes Heather as she leaves to meet up with the rest of the girls. Seeing Arnold knock on Principal Dunn’s door, she hangs back for a few minutes and tries to listen to the conversation. Her quest is interrupted when one of the teachers passes her by, giving her a look that asks “And just what are you doing listening at Dunn’s door?” Not waiting long enough for the teacher to verbalize what shows on her face, she hightails it out to the parking lot.

Arnold sits in a chair directly across from Dunn. He’s more curious than nervous, as he greets him.

“So, uh, Principal Dunn, you wanted to see me?”

Dunn stares down at Arnold. “Yes, indeed I have. You’re a hard fellow to get ahold of.” 

“Uh, yeah, I’m sorry about the missed meetings. I’m still trying to get myself organized what with just becoming a father and all.”

“Right, right, I understand that. A baby brings lots of changes with it. It does take a while to get the hang of it. So this morning’s excuse. I hear you had car trouble?”

The word “Excuse” doesn’t slip past Arnold and he gets a bit frustrated.

“Yeah, it broke down about half way to work. I had to leave it where it stalled and have Helga go wait for a tow truck.”

“That’s the same car your grandfather used to drive if I’m not mistaken.”

“Yes, his old Packard.”

“I remember how he used to be so proud of that car. I’m a bit of an old car aficionado myself, you know.”

The small talk is killing Arnold and he wishes Dunn would just get to the point.

“Yes, he was always babying it and entering it in car shows.”

“It must make you feel proud that he’s trusted you with one of his most prized possessions.” 

“Yes, it does. Um, about our meeting, you wanted to see me because….?”

Just as Dunn is about to speak Arnold’s phone goes off signaling a message from Helga. Dunn gives him an annoyed look and he ignores the text.

“Well, as I was about to say. It seems that next year’s budget for the school district has been increased, allowing the school’s within the district more money for salaries and such. Because of this we will now be able to hire you on for a full five days a week instead of the three that you now work. I assume this is acceptable to you?”

Total relief washes over Arnold as he processes Dunn’s words. He was afraid that his past antics over the last month or so was going to get him reprimanded, not rewarded.

“Oh, yes, that’s great. Helga’s going to be surprised when I tell her.”

“Good, good, just what I was hoping to hear. Your new hours will start right as we come back from winter’s break. I take it there are no questions then?”

“No, no questions at all. Thank you for the good news and I promise, I’ll do my best to be on time for any future meetings.”

“Very well then. You have a good evening and I’ll see you on Friday.”

“Yes sir. I’ll see ya.”

There’s a skip in his walk as he pulls out his phone to check on Helga’s message. 

xxxxx

It’s been a pleasant afternoon spending time with her mom, but Helga keeps a close eye on the clock, wanting to time calling the tow truck just right so she doesn’t get to the school too late. She waits for Phillip to go down for his afternoon nap before she heads out the door. She calls Artie’s Auto on her way to the Packard, giving them the location Arnold had given her. She arrives at the car and sits and waits for the truck to arrive. Time passes and she starts to get antsy. 

“Criminy.” She thinks to herself. “What on earth can be taking them so long?”

After a good half an hour of waiting she sees the tow truck in her rearview mirror. Getting out of the car she does little to hide her annoyance and she talks to the driver.

“So my husband already talked to Artie so he knows what the problem is. Once he’s checked the car over he can give Arnold a call and let him know what’s up.”

She hands him her set of keys and watches as he hooks the old car to his truck. Deep down she really hopes the car can be saved. She’s grown to love the old jalopy and the memories it holds. Just like the boarding house, it’s a part of Arnold’s past that neither of them can seem to let go of. 

As the truck pulls away she gets into her car and drives to the high school just as class is letting out. The parking lot is filled with young drivers, each in a hurry to say good-bye to the school day. She sees Tonya, along with a couple of her friends as she walks up to the school. Giving a wave, Tonya is the first to greet her.

“Mrs. Shortman!” She says as she waves, “What are you doing here?”

“It’s Helga, remember?”

“Oh, yeah, Helga.” The girl smiles up at her newest friend.

“Arnol…. I mean, Mr. Shortman’s car broke down this morning on his way to work, so I’ve come to rescue him from the evil dungeon that is his office.”

The girls give a polite giggle at her words before Gina speaks up.

“Oh, so that’s why he was walking to school this morning. I saw him pass by the attendance office when he came in. He was all out of breath and in a hurry.”

“Out of breath after only walking three miles. Yep, that sounds like my husband. I swear, he needs to start jogging again.”

The girls give each other looks as they picture Arnold in jogging shorts.

“Well, I’ll let you girls be on your way. I’m off to claim my husband. You have a good day.”

The girls all smile and wave their good-byes as Helga disappears into the school.

As she heads to Arnold’s office she passes by Travis.

“Oh, hey, Helga. What brings you to this neck of the woods?”

“I’ve come to pick up Arnold, his car broke down this morning.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that, but I don’t think you’ll find him in his office.”

“Oh no? Well where can I find him then?”

“I just saw him go into Dunn’s office a few minutes ago. He must have gotten called into a meeting.” 

“Oh, criminy. I wonder how long that’s going to take. Well, I think I’ll wander the school for a bit as I wait. Thanks for the info, Travis.”

“No problem, Helga. I’ll see ya around.” As he walks away the image of Amanda as she was leaving Arnold’s office the other day crosses his mind. He tells himself once more that there’s no way Arnold would ever do anything behind Helga’s back but the look on Amanda’s face that day won’t leave him. He wonders if he should bring that day up again to Amanda, just to make sure.

Deciding to go to the gym to see if anything’s going on there, Helga drops Arnold a text letting him know where to find her. As she turns around to head in that direction, she doesn’t notice Amanda, who had been watching the exchange between her and Travis. Wondering what’s up with Helga, she follows her at a safe distance and notices her entering the gym.

It just so happens that Gerald has stayed after school to help coach a few of the boys that are hoping to make this year’s Varsity Basketball team. He sees Helga and gives her a wave as she takes a seat in the stands. She switches her attention from the practice on the court to her Facebook page and doesn’t notice that Amanda has joined her until she sits down next to her. 

Finally looking up from her phone she is surprised to see the woman.

“Oh, hey, Amanda. I didn’t see you. When did you get here?”

“Just a few minutes ago. So what brings you all the way out here?”

Swearing to herself that if she hears that question one more time she’ll scream, she puts on a fake smile.

“Oh, Arnold’s car broke down on his way to work this morning so I’ve come to pick him up.”

“Oh, I see.”

The two women sit in silence for a bit as they watch the action on the court. Eventually Amanda speaks.

“I know what you must think of me, Helga.”

Helga raises an eyebrow at the woman.

“Oh yeah? And what is that?”

“You’re thinking that I’m some sort of homewrecker. That it’s my fault that Gerald and his girlfriend aren’t together anymore.”

Doing her best to control her anger, Helga counts to ten before speaking.

“No, Amanda, I don’t fully blame you for Gerald’s actions. He wasn’t truthful and he’s paid the price, but you do need to be set straight on one thing.”

“Oh, and what’s that?”

“He and Phoebe are NOT broken up. It will take more than a momentary flirtation to break them up.”

Amanda’s face turns red with anger at Helga’s comment.

“He did come to me you know. There must have been some reason for it. He obviously was craving a change in his diet.”

The audacity of the woman causes Helga’s fists to ball up at her sides, but remembering her promise to Arnold to not start anything, she reigns her anger in. Noticing Arnold standing at the gym doors she gets up to leave, but before doing so she turns to Amanda and speaks very calmly.

“Heh,” She says in a dismissive tone, “even the most distinguishable palate can crave junk food every once in a while.”

Too stunned to come up with a quick response, Amanda just sits in silence with her mouth hanging open as Helga walks up to Arnold. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she plants a deep, lingering kiss on his mouth. With a bit of a wicked smirk she gives Amanda a quick glance over her shoulder as she and Arnold leave the gym arm in arm.


	46. Chapter 46

Amanda sits in stunned silence as she watches Helga walk away. Gerald has been watching the altercation between the two and cringes when he sees the look of fire as it enters Amanda’s eyes. He makes a mental note to find out what that was all about before turning his attention back to his students. Up in the stands a few rows behind Amanda, Denise gets up and quietly leaves, anxious to let the other girls know what she’s just overheard.

Arnold gives Helga a kiss on her cheek as they walk down the hallway.

“I noticed you and Amanda were in a pretty deep conversation when I entered the gym. What was that all about?”

Helga tries to play it off as nothing important. “Oh, nothing big. She was just throwing shade on Gerald and Phoebe and I had to set her straight. It’s all settled now, I doubt she’ll try that with me again.”

Arnold shakes his head at Helga as he speaks. “I swear, Helga, do not get into it with that woman. I know you and how you can verbally annihilate someone. If you go after her too strongly she can make a complaint to the school board and start all kinds of trouble.”

Helga waves a hand at him, blowing him off. “Don’t worry, Hair Boy, nothing like that is going to happen. I’ve got her number. She’s the type to work behind the scenes, not make a huge spectacle of things.”

Her words hit home with Arnold as he thinks about when Amanda came by his office unannounced.

“I guess that’s true. Heh, so that’s why she stopped by my office that day after hours.”

Helga’s eyes grow wide. “What! What was she doing bothering you after hours, and why didn’t you tell me when it happened?”

“Oh, she made some excuse about seeing my light on and coming in to investigate. Besides, I didn’t think it was such a big deal, she was just trying to cause trouble. Don’t worry, I shut her down.”

“Geeze, Arnoldo, did you shut her down or cause her to up her game?”

He thinks about it for a minute. “Well, I think I made myself pretty clear. I told her she wasn’t going to win at whatever game it is she’s trying to play.”

Helga stops dead in her tracks, raising her arms above her head she practically yells at Arnold.

“Arnold! Do you not realize what you just did? You just upped the bar with her. Now she feels that she’s been challenged! Oh brother, I don’t say this very often anymore, but you, Arnoldo, are such a Football Head!”

She picks up the pace as she walks, amazed at the fact that it never even crossed Arnold’s mind that his words were more of a challenge than a shut down. Pulling out her keys and pressing the button, she unlocks the car’s doors before they even reach it. Getting in the driver’s seat she just shakes her head as they pull out of the parking lot and head off to pick up their baby.

It takes all of Amanda’s strength to control her anger right now as she sits alone on the bleachers. She catches Gerald’s gaze and the suspicious look in his eyes makes her feel uncomfortable. She gets up, avoiding further eye contact as she walks out of the gym. She has dinner reservations with Travis’s sister, Sarah and she doesn’t want to keep the girl waiting. 

xxxxx

Sarah stands on the front steps of her apartment building as she waits for Amanda to show up. She’s heard a lot about the woman and is anxious to see who has so quickly won the heart of her older brother. He’s always been the type of person to wear his heart on his sleeve. He’s quick to fall in love, constantly jumping the gun and saying the “L” word before the other person is ready. He’s also a gentle soul, kind and caring, ready to give the person of his affection the world if they so desire. It’s because of this that he is constantly taken advantage of and it drives her mad each time someone breaks his heart, leaving her to be the one to help him pick up the pieces and move on. She hopes that this time he has finally found someone worthy of his love, someone willing and able to return it back to him tenfold as he deserves.

She sees a car stop in front the apartment building and from the description Travis gave her she assumes its Amanda. Walking up to the car the driver waves her in. As she gets in she sizes up the woman while presenting her with a sweet smile.

“Hi, Amanda, it’s nice to finally meet you.” She holds out a hand for the woman to shake.

Taking her hand Amanda returns her smile. “Hi, it’s Sarah, right? I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

They engage in light conversation as they head to the same restaurant where Tonya’s cousin works. Once seated, they are greeted by their waitress, who recognizes Amanda from a video Tonya had shown her just a few days ago. After hearing what Tonya had to say about her, she thinks her cousin would be very interested to know who was sitting at her table right now. She makes a mental note to text her cousin on her break.

xxxxx

The girls had agreed to meet at Tonya’s house after school. They sit up in her bedroom right now, comparing notes from their shifts as attendance office aides. 

Abby is the first to speak up.

“I delivered a note to Mr. Shortman this morning from Principal Dunn. It was sealed so I don’t know what he wanted.”

“I saw him go into Dunn’s office after school.” Heather speaks up. “I tried to listen in at the door, but I was being watched so I had to leave.”

It’s Denise’s turn to offer up her little bit of information.

“I was sitting in the gym for a bit after school, you know, just passing time.”

“Yeah, passing time staring at Mr. Johanssen I bet.” Heather chides

Denise gives her an annoyed look.

“As if you’ve never done it yourself. Anyway, as I was saying, I was in the gym after school when I saw Mrs. Shortman come in and start watching the guys practice. I assume she was waiting for her husband. I was going to go down to her and say hi when Ms. Pearson comes walking up to her.”

The girls all give each other questioning looks before turning their attention back to Denise.

“They were talking about Ms. Pearson and Mr. Johanssen. Did you know they were dating for a while?”

This was news to the girls and they looked at each other with shocked eyes.

“I knew they were chummy.” Tonya said, “But I had no idea they were dating.”

“Yeah, well, apparently Mr. Johanssen already has a girlfriend from what I gather. That’s what Ms Pearson and Mrs. Shortman were arguing about.”

“OH man!” Gina says as she lets out a long breath. 

“Yeah. From what I could gather is seemed like Mrs. Shortman blamed her for almost breaking Mr. Johanssen and his girlfriend up. Ms Pearson said something to Mrs. Shortman then Mrs. Shortman burned her bad with a totally awesome comeback, likening her to junk food then stormed off before Ms Pearson had a chance to reply.”

The girls all let out a loud laugh, wishing they had been there to witness what Denise had just described.

“That’s not the best part.” Denise breaks in, gaining back their attention back.

“Oh I can’t stand it.” Heather says, “What happened next?”

Turns out Mr. Shortman was waiting for his wife by the gym entrance. When Mrs. Shortman saw him she saunters up to him and plants this HUGE kiss on his lips, then turns and looks at Ms Pearson as if to say, “Back off, bitch, he’s mine!”

As the girls laugh once again, Tonya can’t help but to mentally send Helga a “You Go Girl” thought. As she thinks this a text comes over her phone.

“Oh, hold up, girls, guess who’s having dinner right now at my cousin’s restaurant, none other than Ms Pearson herself! She’s with some chick having dinner.”

A murmur filled with curiosity spreads through the girls.

Tonya shoots Rachel a text asking her to keep an ear out on their conversation.

xxxxx

Amanda orders a bottle of wine for the table and fills Sarah’s glass just a tad bit higher than her own. Nursing her own drink, she keeps a close eye on Sarah’s, making sure to keep it filled.

They enjoy a nice dinner, keeping the conversation light, not lingering on any one subject for too long. As Amanda fills Sarah’s glass for the fourth time, she slowly steers the conversation towards what it was like growing up in Hillwood. A rosy glow starts to form on Sarah’s cheeks and little giggles escape her now as she talks.

“I guess growing up in Hillwood was alright, I mean, I liked it well enough to come back after college.” A small hiccup sneaks up on her and she blushes. 

Seeing the affect the wine is having on Sarah brings a smile to Amanda’s lips.

“I think it’s kind of cool that your brother works at the high school that he went to as a teen.” Amanda says, finally steering the conversation in her intended direction.

“Oh, yeah, that’s the thing with Hillwood, it’s a hard place to leave. That’s why most of the gang is still relatively close. Well, except for Rhonda Lloyd, she’s definitely moved on to bigger and better things.”

“Rhonda Lloyd? As in Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, the model?” Amanda asks, duly impressed.

“Oh, yeah, she was a part of the whole Arnold gang.”

“Bingo!” Amanda thinks as she notices that Sarah’s glass is almost empty. Picking up the wine bottle, she pours what’s left into the intoxicated girl’s glass.

“Arnold gang? What’s that?”

“Oh, well, that’s just what those on the outside called it. It was a group of kids that all hung out together. It mostly consisted of Arnold, Helga, who’s now married to him, Gerald, his now girlfriend Phoebe, Stinky and Lila who run Peterson Farms just outside of town. Have you ever been there? You should really go visit them sometime, it’s a really cute place.”

Amanda is annoyed at the rabbit trail Sarah has taken and tries to veer her back on course.

“Uh, no, I’ve never been. So, it sounds like it was a pretty tight knit group.”

“Oh, yeah, they were very close, and you didn’t mess with them. Not unless you wanted the wrath of Helga on you. She was like the group’s bodyguard or something. You mess with one of their little group, you had to face Helga. And don’t even try to look at Arnold.”

“Really? She was the possessive type, huh?”

“Oh, yeah. One time in middle school, just after her and Arnold started getting close, this girl named Mary tried to come on to Arnold. Helga found out, which caused this huge fight, and she ended up accidentally breaking the girl’s collar bone.”

“Accidentally, huh? Did she get in trouble?”

“Naw, Mary never said nothing about it.”

“That’s ridiculous, why not?”

“It was the code back then. Whatever happened in the streets, stayed in the streets.”

“That doesn’t make Hillwood sound like a very nice place to live to me. How can you say it was nice growing up here?”

“I said it was nice, I didn’t say is was tame. I don’t know what kind of hometown you’ve come from, but here, we grew up in the streets. You needed your friends to help you get through. That’s why all the groups that formed back then were tight knit. And if you weren’t in a group, then you needed to be tough, like Patty Berman, the butcher’s wife. She was a loner before making her way into Arnold’s gang.”

“So they were a gang?”

“Well, no, I guess gang isn’t really the right word. I guess group is a better way to put it. Arnold and his group of friends.”

“What was it about Arnold that made him the center of this “group”?”

“I guess you could say he was the calming force. He reigned in the craziness of everyone else.”

“Are they all still that way today?”

“Oh, most definitely. If you mess with one, you’ll have them all on your back. Trust me.”

“Has anyone recently ever tried to get between Helga and Arnold?”

“Nooo, not since what happened to Mary. At least not anyone that knows of their history.”

Sarah studies Amanda’s face, trying to read what she’s thinking.

“Hey, uh, I don’t know what the big deal is with Arnold, or what you may have against Helga, but if I were you, I wouldn’t consider messing with them. Helga can be known for going pretty ape shit crazy. If she doesn’t tear you apart verbally, she’ll do it physically, and you don’t look like the type that’s been in many fights in your life.”

“What? You’re being ridiculous, I have no interests in Arnold, not when I have your brother to keep me warm at night.” She gives Sarah a sweet smile.

Smiling back through half lidded eyes, a drunk Sarah believes that her new friend is being nothing but honest.

xxxxx

Helga drives in silence as the two head over to the Pataki household to pick up their child. Once there, they are talked into staying for dinner, which is fine with Helga. She figures the more time there, the less time she has to put up with Arnold and his Football Headed way of thinking.

The two sit mostly quiet as they eat, listening to Big Bob as he goes on and on about his day at the electronics emporium. Every once in a while they shoot the other an annoyed look before quickly turning their attention back to Bob. After dinner they sit for a bit, giving the grandparents time for some last minute cuddles with their grandson. By the time they leave Helga is still seething over Arnold’s inability to understand the challenge he’s placed before Amanda, and Arnold can’t understand why Helga won’t admit that messing with Amanda could cause problems at work.

Their drive home is not as quiet as the drive to her parent’s was and they spend the whole time bickering back and forth, their anger rising. Once home, Helga immediately goes up to the nursery to feed Phillip and put him to bed. Arnold takes the opportunity to take a quick shower and by the time Helga enters the bedroom she finds him sitting with his back propped up against the headboard of the bed lost in thought. She silently changes into a nightgown and sits propped up next to him. Grabbing a magazine she does her best to ignore him.

He’s growing tired of the anger that sits between them and figures someone needs to be the first to try and make amends.

“Helga, talk to me.” He says, trying to break the ice.

“There’s nothing more to talk about. I’m fine, it’s over.”

He leans towards her, brushing her hair behind her ear. His other arm reaches out to embrace her as he goes to nuzzle her neck. 

Still angered, she roughly pushes him away as she yells, “Get off of me!”

He moves back, staring at her wide-eyed. Looking at his face, she takes a deep breath in, her hand coming up to her mouth. On his face she sees a mix of shock and hurt. Never, in all their days since the very first time they lay together, has she ever pushed him away, denying his advances. In that split second of looking into his eyes, her heart breaks and she curses herself. 

She runs her fingers down his cheek as she whispers. “Oh, Arnold. I’m so sorry.”

She had let Amanda get into her head, they both have and they know it. Grabbing him by the collar of his T-shirt, she pulls him to her, kissing him with a sudden urgency. He places his hands on either side of her face and kisses her back. She blindly tears at his clothes, ripping them from his body as he does the same to hers. Wrapping her arms around his neck she throws herself backwards, using her legs like a vise to grasp his hips between them. He enters her and his hands run over her body, his fingers following every curve and crevice. 

The tears flow from her eyes as she repeats over and over, “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry…”

Afterwards they lay spent as they hold each other, Helga making a silent vow to never let Amanda get into her head again.


	47. Chapter 47

It’s Thursday morning, which means it’s a non-work day for Arnold. He lounges in bed a little longer than normal, regaining his strength from last night’s intense lovemaking, which lasted well into the wee hours of the morning. He felt bad for Helga when he heard Phillip start to cry at around 5 a.m., but she insisted on being the one to get up and tend to him. 

They had both let Amanda mess with their heads and they came very close to turning on each other over it. When they realized what was happening, they used each other’s bodies to drive the conniving woman from their heads. The sex was raw and fervent as they clung to each other in an effort to keep themselves grounded. He understands now what Helga was trying to say about his words being more of a challenge than a reprimand to Amanda.

He pushes himself out of bed and gives a big stretch. He has a kink in his neck and a sore back that he attributes to last night’s romp in the sheets and he feels older than his grandfather as he shuffles across the bedroom floor. He hobbles over to Phillip’s nursery and finds him sleeping soundly in his crib. Slowly walking down the stairs he finds the kitchen empty so he continues his search for his wife.

He finds her sitting on the couch in the family room, a hot mug of coffee in her hands. He sits next to her and she looks at him and gives him a soft smile. Leaning in he gives her a kiss on her forehead.

“Good morning.” He says as he rests his cheek on her head.

She removes the hand that is closest to him from her mug and rubs his thigh. He can feel the warmth that the hot coffee has left on her hand through his thinning pajama bottoms. Leaning forward she places the mug she is holding on to the coffee table in front of them and turns to face him. Taking his hands she looks up into his eyes.

“Arnold, I just want to tell you how sorry I am about yesterday.”

He starts to say something and she hushes him before continuing.

“I let that woman get into my head and I shouldn’t have. When I pushed you away last night in anger, and I saw the look on your face, well, it broke my heart to see you that way. When I think that I was the cause of all the sorrow I saw in your eyes, I……..”

She can’t bring herself to finish her thought, the words just won’t come. He holds her face in his hands now and gives her an intent look.

“I know you didn’t mean anything you said last night. We both just let ourselves get carried away. Don’t worry about anything, we’re good. No, we’re better than good, we’re perfect.”

He runs his thumb across her cheek to wipe away a stray tear and gives her a soft kiss. Finally smiling, she picks her coffee mug back up and sits back, leaning against him.

“Hey, with all that happened yesterday, you never told me what Dunn wanted to see you about.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right.”

“Did he chew you out over some past transgression?”

“No! Actually, he called me in to tell me that starting in January the school is going to hire me on a full five days a week instead of just three.”

Helga gives a little frown at the news.

“Hey, you should be smiling, not frowning. This is good news, it means more money coming in.”

“Yeah, but I’m going to miss having you around during the week. I like our Tuesdays and Thursdays together.”

“Well I do too, but think about it. With the extra hours we might not have to worry about taking in boarders again just to pay the bills. We can continue to have this place all to ourselves.”

“That’s true, but look at this place, it’s huge. What else are we going to do with all these rooms? They’re just sitting empty, collecting dust.”

Narrowing his eyes, he gives her a sly leer.

“Welllll, we could fill the rooms up with children.”

“What! So I go from bed warmer, to milk truck to baby maker?”

“You won’t be making the babies all by yourself, I’ll be helping too ya know.”

“Yeah, you’ll help with the fun part and leave me to push them out my Va-Jay-Jay. But seriously, though, I will miss having you around the house so much.”

“Yeah, I’ll miss it too, but if it keeps us independent then it will be worth it. Now, come on, I’m starving, let’s go to the kitchen and you can make me some pancakes.”

She gives him a roll of her eyes as she gets up, “Whatever you say, Arnoldo.”

xxxxx  
Amanda lays in Travis’s bed staring at a small cobweb that hangs from the ceiling. It flutters as the air from the heat vent blows through the room. She had paid him a surprise visit after her dinner with his sister. She figured it was the least she could do for him for the part he played in hooking her up with Sarah. She runs the conversation she had with the girl through her mind. She hadn’t expected Arnold and his little band of disciples to be so loyal and close. She wonders if she’s up to the task of taking on half of Hillwood just for a little game of payback, after all, her job at the school is only temporary and, if she chooses to blow this little pop stand of a town after her stint is up, she’ll never have to be bothered with any of them again. Oh, but how fun it would be to leave even the littlest bit of destruction in her wake. 

She feels Travis begin to stir next to her and rolls to face him. Opening his eyes, he gives her a smile as he reaches out to brush a few strands of rogue hairs out of her eyes.

“Good morning.” He says as he lightly kisses her.

“Mmm, good morning yourself. You sleep well?”

“Yeah, like a rock, thanks to you.” He gives her wink that anyone else would find endearing. She just finds it to be a bit too cheesy for her likes.

Running her hand down the muscles in his arm she is happy that at least he’s good looking, and really good in bed. Another little plus. With her mind on sex now she moves in a little closer to him. Running a finger down his chest, she speaks in a sugary sweet voice.

“I want to thank you again for introducing me to your sister. She’s a really sweet girl.”

“Yeah, she’s a good egg alright.”

Amanda mentally rolls her eyes at the term “good egg”. 

She gives him a little kiss on his nose. “It must run in your family then.”

His hand starts to trail up her side, detouring once it reaches her breasts. He massages them, his breath beginning to grow heavy. She can feel his hardness as he rubs against her inner thigh, stoking the embers that are beginning to glow deep within her. 

He gives a slight chuckle, “Heh, yeah, we’re all a regular bunch of boy scouts.”

Rolling on top of her he covers her mouth with his, his tongue sweeping against hers. He enters her and moves slowly. She wraps her arms around him as he kisses her neck, and, as before, watches the small cobweb as it continues to flutter in the breeze from the vent.

Xxxxx

Tonya and Rachel sit across from each other in a booth at Tonya’s favorite donut shop. They leisurely munch on crullers and maple bars, occasionally dunking the sugary treats in their coffees. Even though Rachel is about four years older than Tonya, the two have always been very close. 

Being Hillwood natives themselves, Rachel was surprised when she found out that the object of this Amanda woman’s affections is the same Travis she knew as a kid. He was quite a few years older than her, so the two never really had any interactions. But, he was one of the big kids of the neighborhood, the kind of guy the younger ones looked up to whether it be as a good influence or bad. 

Travis fit into the “good” influence category. While other boys his age were egging cars and stealing hubcaps, Travis worked the counter at Slausen’s and would always show kindness to the little kids by way of an extra cherry on their sundae or three pumps of chocolate in their shakes instead of just the mandated two. It’s because of her fond memories of Travis that she takes an interest in her cousin’s covert mission to find out what she can about Ms Amanda.

“Well, I couldn’t hear their whole conversation, but I kept an ear out every time I was working a table near their booth. They were definitely talking about your teacher because I kept hearing the words Arnold and Hillwood.”

Tonya can’t help but dig deeper. “Did they talk about Mr. Johanssen at all?”

Rachel tilts her head to one side as she thinks. “Well, at one point I did overhear them talking about how this Arnold guy and Gerald were good friends, and Sarah did talk a little bit about how tight knit their group was. She also mentioned something about Arnold’s wife breaking a girl’s collar bone in a jealous fit.”

Tonya lets out a laugh over the broken collar bone, this information making her like Helga even more. 

Through her laughter she says, “Yeah, that matches up with what I know about Mrs. Shortman too.” 

Rachel continues to speak. “One thing I did notice, though, is that by the time they finished dinner Travis’s sister was quite drunk, and Amanda looked like she hadn’t had a thing to drink all night. If you ask me, I think Amanda purposely got Sarah drunk.”

These words don’t surprise Tonya at all. “Heh, probably so she’d loosen up and talk more.”

“Yeah, I’d say so too. Sorry I don’t have any more info for you.”

Tonya shakes her head. “Oh, no, no, this is great, you’ve helped a lot. Now I know she’s been digging around into the Shortman’s past. Probably hoping to dig up something to use against them.”

“Well, from the bits of the conversation I heard, there wasn’t much to tell.”

Tonya checks the time on her phone and starts to get up. “That’s good to hear. Well, I’ve got to run if I’m going to get to school before the first bell. Thanks again.”

“Anytime, and if I see her come into the restaurant again I’ll shoot you a text.”

At that the two girls go their separate ways, with Tonya anxious to meet up with her friends at school to tell them what she’s learned.”

xxxxx

Amanda left Travis’s apartment early so she’d have time to go home and change the clothes she was still wearing from the day before. Hurrying, she makes it to school with plenty of time before the first bell. Sitting in her classroom she turns at the sound of the door opening. With a look of suspicion, she sees Gerald as he approaches her. Her heart makes a momentary skip before she gathers her wits and puts on a steely face.

“Mr. Johanssen, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Oh, so it’s Mr. Johanssen now?” Gerald asks.

“Well you’ve made it perfectly clear that you wanted our relationship to be cordial, not friendly. So why are you here anyway?”

“I saw you and Helga talking in the gym yesterday. I was just wondering what it was that you were so intently discussing.”

“Yeah? Why are you coming to me with the questions? Shouldn’t you be asking Helga?”

“I’m asking you because I don’t like Helga being involved in our problems. So tell me, what were you two talking about?”

“We were talking about the weather and wondering if it was going to start snowing again anytime soon.”

“Come on, Amanda, that’s a lie and you know it.”

“Why do you say that?”

Tired of her games, Gerald is beginning to become angry. He places both hands on her desk and leans in close.

“Because, I saw the look of fire in both your eyes. You weren’t talking about no weather.”

Amanda starts to say something when the first warning bell goes off. Needing to get to his own class, Gerald straightens up but keeps his glare on Amanda.

“This conversation isn’t over. I will be talking to you again.”

He turns and storms out of her classroom, passing a few kids as he leaves. They look at the expression on his face and give each other questioning stares. All, that is, except for Tonya.


	48. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! If you happen to have an aversion to poop stories, you might want to skip the first part of this chapter and move on to part 2.

Arnold sits at the kitchen table, a stack of his favorite pancakes sit in front of him. Helga sits across from him, her own stack growing cold as she tends to a fussy Phillip who sits in his baby carrier next to her.

“I think those antibiotics are upsetting the poor little guy’s tummy. He’s been really gassy lately.” She gives her child a sad look.

“Yeah, they’ve also given him some pretty potent poops.” Arnold says as he waves a hand in front of his nose.

“Hey, he can’t help it. Right Philly-Willy.” Helga gives her son a pat on his belly, eliciting a small smile from him.

Staring into his face she heaves a big sigh. “I just can’t get over how cute he is. He makes me think of you when we were kids and how I would look at you, and get all fuzzy inside because of how cute you were to me.”

“Yeah, you were pretty cute yourself. That is, when you weren’t torturing me or yelling at me.”

“Hey, I couldn’t help it. You had to be kept in your place, you know. Wouldn’t want you thinking you were all that or anything.”

“Oh, don’t worry, that would have never happened as long as you were around.”

She looks at the man that she’s loved for close to 100% of her life and counts her blessings. She wonders if he’ll ever really know how deep her love for him flows. He looks at her and a faint blush starts to grow on her cheeks.

As he looks at her he notices the blush that forms and it makes him smile. He reaches out and takes her hand. They sit across from each other, the looks in their eyes expressing how they feel. Their moment of reverie is broken by Phillip’s cry. Taking a breath in there is no need to question the reason for his sudden outburst. Helga takes a peek into the carrier and sees a growing patch of brown spreading down his thighs. She gets up and grabs their empty plates and addresses Arnold as she walks to the sink.

“Hey, can you get this one while I do the dishes please?”

Not knowing of the disaster that awaits him, Arnold is eager to help.

“Sure, no problem, anything for my little man.”

He picks up the carrier without checking it too carefully and walks up to the nursery where Phillip’s changing table is. After a couple of minutes Helga smiles as she hears Arnold’s voice boom down the stairs.

“HELLL-GAAA! YOU TRICKED ME!”

xxxxx

He stands, staring down at Phillip. Having removed the now soiled jammies, his child lay on his back staring up happily at his daddy. Arnold is at a loss as to what to do next. Wishing he had a pair of gloves handy he is hesitant to open the overflowing diaper. As the smell reaches his nose he can’t help but to give a slight retch. 

Using just the tips of his fingers, he slowly starts to peel back the sticky tabs that hold the diaper in place. Trying desperately not to touch the green napalm that oozes from the leg holes and up the waistband, his efforts are thwarted by Phillip’s movements as he flails his legs and arms. Another small retch escapes him when his fingers touch the goo. Once the diaper is finally opened, a whole new atrocity awaits him. Phillip is covered from his belly button all the way down to his little peenie, which, in itself, sits covered in the molten lava. Letting his guard down, a new expression of horror spreads across Arnold’s face as a stream of warm, yellow, liquid jets out to hit him smack dab in the middle of his chest. 

“Awww, Phillip, how could you do this to your poor old dad?” He says, thankful that it was his chest and not his face that got hit this time.

Reaching for the wipes, he wishes he had opened the package and removed a few before opening the diaper. Unbeknownst to Arnold, the first wipe that awaits him is stuck to the one behind it. Now, when he goes to whip out the first wipe, the whole package lifts off the table. The weight of the package is too much for the first wipe to handle so the whole thing lets go and drops onto Phillip’s messy torso. 

The suddenness of having a two-thirds full package of wipes dropped on him causes Phillip to give out an annoyed scream, kicking his legs as he does so. This action as stirred up something inside of the boy and he pulls both his legs and arms in close to his body, bracing himself for what is about to happen next.

Placing the poo covered package of wipes aside Arnold looks at Phillip just in time to notice the look on his face. It’s his “I’m going to explode any second now and there’s nothing you can do about it” look, which has Arnold terrified. Reaching for the front of Phillip’s diaper, he lifts it just in time to shield his already pee soaked torso from what comes shooting out of his child’s bum. Unfortunately, as the gushing mass hits the diaper, it splashes off, splattering out the sides onto the changing table. 

At the sight of this, Arnold’s retching mechanism is once again set off. Throwing up his hands, he admits defeat and calls for his wife.

“HELLLLL-GAAAAAAAAA!!!!!” He yells at the top of his lungs.

She’s just finished loading the dishwasher when she hears her name coming from upstairs. Unaware of what awaits her, she giggles as she follows the sound of her husband’s voice. As she enters the nursery she stands stunned at the scene before her, the smile slowly fading from her face. Once her brain has had time to process what she is seeing, she holds her stomach as she doubles over in a fit of laughter. 

A frantic Arnold yells back at her.

“It’s not funny! I tap out, it’s your turn. I’m done!”

Helga calmly walks over to him and surveys the scene in front of her. She turns to ask Arnold just how he managed to get not only the table top, but also a whole package of wipes, covered in poo, when she notices his soaking wet T-shirt.

“Is-is that – Pee?” She asks trying desperately not to start laughing again.

Arnold sees the laughter that is about to escape Helga and he points his index finger at her.

“Don’t you dare start laughing again!”

The ferocity with which he speaks is too much for Helga and once again she lets out a loud guffaw. 

“Oh, Arnold, I’m sorry but I just can’t help it.”

She looks at Phillip, then turns back to Arnold.

“There’s not enough wipes in the world to clean up this mess. Tell you what, you go get in the shower, and I’ll bring Phillip to you and you both can take a shower together.”

Arnold waves his hands out in front of him. 

“I’m not holding him while he’s naked, he’s a beast, and he’ll poop right on me this time!”

“I doubt he has much of anything left, you’ll be fine. Now go get in the shower so I can start to clean up this mess.”

Doing as told, Arnold stands in the shower as Helga hands Phillip over to him. She then takes the shower head off its holder and sprays Phillip down.

“There, the poop’s gone. Now do you think you can manage washing him while I clean up the mess you made? When you’re done give me a shout and I’ll come get him.”

Begrudgingly, Arnold does as told as Helga cleans up the nursery. When Arnold is done washing his son Helga takes the child and dresses him. She then heads downstairs and, getting herself a fresh mug of coffee, sits and nurses Phillip. By the time Arnold is done with his shower Phillip lays contentedly suckling at his mother’s breast.

“Heh, look at him now.” Arnold says as he sits down next to his wife. “He looks so calm and innocent. You’d never guess of the fiend that lies within.”

Helga gives him a nudge with her elbow. “Don’t call your son a fiend. He can’t help it if the medicine gives him yucky poops.”

“You know, you’re right.” Arnold says. “He’s not to blame for what happened, you are.”

“Me?” Helga says indignantly, “How am I to blame?”

Arnold looks down at her through narrowed eyes.

“Because, you knew what you were handing off to me, and you didn’t tell me. It wasn’t until I was alone upstairs that I noticed that I was in over my head.”

Caught red-handed, Helga can’t help but laugh. “Okay, I guess you’re right. I should have warned you. I’m sorry. Do you forgive me?”

Arnold looks into her pleading eyes and can’t help but chuckle. “I guess I can forgive you, but YOU get to take on the next monster poop. Agreed?”

Helga leans her head on his shoulder. “Agreed.”

xxxxx

The day goes by slowly as Gerald waits for an opportunity to continue his conversation with Amanda. At long last the last bell of the day rings. Gerald stands at his desk until the last student has left and, quickly shoving that day’s quiz papers into his briefcase so he can take them home for grading, he heads over to Amanda’s classroom. Looking through the door’s window, he sees a couple students lingering in their seats while Amanda erases the whiteboard that sits on the wall at the front of the classroom. After what felt like forever, the two students pass him by as they leave the room. They turn to watch him with great interest as he walks up to their teacher. 

Seeing Gerald walk into her room for a second time that day, Amanda does little to hide her annoyance. 

“You, again?” She says as she reaches to open the desk drawer that holds her purse.

Gerald’s voice is hard as he speaks. “I told you I’d be back.” 

His sentence is cut short as one of the girls that passed him earlier comes walking back into the room. She slowly walks over to her desk and pretends to look for something on the floor.

“Oh, I hope I’m not interrupting.” Gina says innocently. “I’m missing my favorite pen and I think I may have dropped it at my desk. Please don’t let me bother you.”

She continues to check the floor around her desk, in hopes that the two teachers will continue with their conversation. Unfortunately, though, they just stand quietly until she leaves. As she passes them by she notices that neither one of them look very happy with the other. A little bit of information that she stores away for later.

Once the door closes behind Gina, Gerald turns back to Amanda.

“So, are you ready now to tell me what you and Helga were talking about yesterday?”

“I already told you.” Amanda days defiantly, “Besides, whatever Helga and I have to discuss is none of your business.”

His anger has come back and he takes a step closer to her. “Oh you’d better believe me that it is so my business when it involves either Helga or Arnold. I’m warning you, Amanda, you’d better lay off them.”

Although there is a slight quiver to it, Amanda holds her chin up high in an effort to show Gerald that she does not intimidate easily.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides, if Arnold has a wandering eye then that’s Helga’s problem.”

Gerald gives her a questioning look. “What do you mean by a ‘wandering eye’?”

“It means just as it sounds. If he can’t help himself when he’s around me then it’s not my fault.”

Gerald lets out a laugh at her statement. “Arnold? Can’t help himself around YOU? Oh, brother, that’s a laugh. I may have been stupid enough to get caught in your web in a moment of weakness, but not Arnold. He’s 100% true blue and totally dedicated to Helga. Oh, man, that’s a good one, Arnold interested in you!”

Amanda gives a little huff. “You may laugh now, but just wait. Every man has his breaking point. You of all people should know that.”

Furious now Gerald does all that he can to not strike out at Amanda. Instead he gets within inches of her face, causing her to back against the white board that hangs on the wall, his eyes locked on hers, his hands gripping her upper arms. His words are low and menacing as he talks very slowly.

“Listen, Amanda, I’m going to tell you one last time. Leave Arnold and Helga out of this. If you have a problem with me then we will handle it alone, without dragging anyone else into it. You got it?”

Her eyes narrow as she speaks. What she tells him is a lie, but he doesn’t need to know that. “Don’t flatter yourself, Gerald. I’ve already casted you aside and forgotten about you. So just go on about your own business, and stay out of mine.” 

He stares her down for a moment before pushing her into the wall in back of her. “Just remember what I said.” He threatens before turning and walking out the door.

She stands by her desk, rubbing her lower back where the ledge of the whiteboard hit her. She silently gathers up her stuff turning out the light as she exits the room. As she leaves the school she passes Arnold’s empty office and plots her next course of action.


	49. Chapter 49

There’s a good ten minutes before the first bell ushers in the start of school. In the teacher’s lounge the atmosphere is light and happy as everyone is in full T.G.I.F. mode. Arnold stands talking to Gerald, about staying after work for a bit to partake in a game of teacher’s vs students on the gym’s basketball court. 

“I guess that would be fun.” Arnold says as he contemplates joining the team of teachers.

“Sure it will,” Gerald says, trying to coax in into it. “I’ll even give you a ride home so Helga doesn’t have to bother picking you up.”

“Okay, you sold me, I think I still have a gym bag with workout clothes in it in my office from the last time we played. I’ll send Helga a text letting her know not to pick me up.”

“Excellent!” Gerald responds as he gets up and starts to head for the door. “I’ll meet you on the court at 3:15 with everyone else.”

As he leaves, he crosses paths with Amanda. She catches a glimpse of Arnold in the teacher’s lounge as the door closes. Gerald gives her a hard stare as they pass each other which she pretends to ignore. Changing her course of direction, she enters the lounge. As she saunters up to Arnold she is watched by Sally who elbows the teacher standing next to her. Nodding her head in Amanda and Arnold’s direction, the two ladies give each other a knowing look.

Amanda places a hand on the small of Arnold’s back as she comes to stand next to him, momentarily surprising him, causing him to give a slight jump.

“Amanda,” He says as he moves away from her touch, “you startled me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. So, you have a nice day off yesterday with that lovely wife of yours?”

“Uh, yeah. My day’s always nicer when I can spend it with Helga and Phillip. You, uh, have a good day at work?”

“Eh, so-so. It would have been nicer if I was able to see your face throughout the day though.”

Rolling his eyes, Arnold grabs his mug and turns to leave. “Yeah, right. Well, I’ll see you, Amanda.”

As he starts to leave Amanda reaches out to grasp his hand. The hand holding does not go unnoticed by the two other teachers that are still standing on the other side of the room.

“Oh, one more thing.” She says, her grasp tight on Arnold’s hand. “Will I get to see you at the basketball game this afternoon after school?”

With a bit of a struggle he pulls his hand out of Amanda’s grasp.

“I’m thinking about it. Why, you playing?”

She gives a light chuckle. “Oh heaven’s no, but I will be watching from the stands.”

“Good.” Arnold replies, “I’m sure Travis will be happy to have you there pulling for him. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to get going.”

She gives him a little wave as he walks away. Turning towards where the coffee sits she spies the other teachers out of the corner of her eye. Their stares as they talk quietly to each other brings a smile to her lips. Filling a travel mug with the hot brew she turns to leave, giving a pleasant nod to the two teachers. Once she is gone and out of earshot Sally turns to her friend.

“See, I told you, something’s up with those two.”

“I guess it does look like it.” Her friend agrees, “But come on, it’s Arnold, and he and his wife just had a baby. There’s no way he’s messing around.”

“Oh, I don’t know, it happens all the time, and by the people you’d least expect.”

xxxxx

Tonya and her group sit together at lunch to discuss any new findings since the last time they talked. All five girls have been steadfast in their quest to get the goods on their least favorite teacher. As acting leader, Tonya addresses the group.

“Okay, so how’s it been going so far? Anyone have anything of interest to report?”

“Well,” Gina starts, “I saw Mr. Johanssen go into Ms Pearson’s class right after it let out yesterday. He looked mad, and she didn’t look very happy when she saw him. I tried to go back in and listen to what they were talking about, but they stopped talking the minute they noticed me. I did hear him say something like ’I told you I’d be back’. Something like that.”

Tonya thinks about that morning. “That’s funny, as I was heading into class first period Mr. Johanssen was coming out and he looked really mad. The two visits have to be related. Man, I wish I knew what they were talking about.”

Ever the logical one, Denise makes a guess. “Perhaps Mr. Johanssen was mad at Ms Pearson for getting into it with Mrs. Shortman that afternoon in the gym.”

“That makes total sense.” Tonya says, the other girls nodding their heads in agreement.

“Oh, and another thing, I talked to my cousin, Rachel, about that night Ms Pearson was having dinner with Mr. Cooper’s sister. She said by the end of the meal his sister was obviously snockered while Ms Pearson looked totally sober.”

“Ohhhhh, she got her drunk so she’d spill the beans!” Abby almost shouts.

“Yep.” Tonya says, “Seems like it.” 

Their little meeting is cut short when a few of their guy friends come walking up to their table. A deep blush grows on Tonya’s cheeks as a boy by the name of Blake slides into the chair next to hers. Denise gives Tonya a nudge with her knee under the table that Tonya ignores. 

“So ladies,” Blake says, giving each of them a toothy smile, “What are you guys discussing so intently?”

Tonya’s eyes flash around the group, commanding the girls to keep quiet, before answering Blake’s question.

“What we were talking about, Blake, is boys and how stupid they can be.”

“Riiiight.” He says, not believing her. He reaches over and steals a fry off the plate that sits in front of her. Dipping it in her ketchup he smiles as he takes a bite.

“Whatever, Tonya. So, you girls going to come watch us make mincemeat out of the teachers today after school?”

Tonya gives him a little huff. “Don’t be so sure of yourselves, I was at the last game, they wiped the court with your sorry asses.”

Blake gives Tonya an annoyed look before taking another fry off her plate.

“Heh, that’s just because we were down our star player. Don’t worry, we’ll cream them this time.”

“Oh yeah? Want to put your money where your mouth is?” Tonya all but yells, mad at herself for letting Blake get a rise out of her once again.

“Okay, sure.” Blake says through narrowed eyes. “What’s the bet?”

Flustered at having to actually come up with something, Tonya throws the decision back to Blake.

“Heh, since you’re the one that’s going to lose, I’ll go easy on you and let you call the stakes.”

Blake gives her a smug look. He’s been looking for a way to ask her out to this year’s Winter Ball, and now he takes his opportunity.

“Okay, I will. Loser has to take the winner to Winter Ball, and pay for the whole night. That’s tickets, dinner AND limo.”

A chorus of gasps can be heard coming from the girls. The blush that Tonya was wearing earlier was nothing compared to the red that forms on her cheeks now. Gathering her wits, she puts on a sneer and looks him in the eye.

“Okay, deal. Loser pays. You’d better start working some overtime right now, because I’m going to make you pay through the nose!”

Giving her a smile, he grabs another fry as he stands up.

“Whatever you say, Tonya.” He says as he and his small gang of jocks strut away.

Once alone again the girls can’t help but all talk at once, stating over and over again about how romantic the whole situation is, pushing all talk of Amanda and her antics to the side.

xxxxx

Amanda hangs back in her classroom for a bit after the final bell of the day rings. She wants the game in the gym to be in full swing when she gets there in hopes of being able to go unnoticed. She had passed by Arnold’s office earlier in the day and noticed his gym bag sitting on the floor in an out of the way corner. She remembers the day she had made her little impromptu visit on him. The bag was in the same corner as it was when she passed by today. She remembers seeing a pink ribbon tied to one of the handles of the bag. When she saw it she thought to herself what a silly thing to have tied to his bag.

After about 20 to 30 minutes have gone by she throws her purse over her shoulder and leaves her classroom, turning out the lights and shutting the door behind her. The hallways are pretty empty, just as she was hoping, making it easy for her to make a quick detour into the girl’s bathroom. Checking every stall very carefully, she slips into one, locking the door behind her. With a smirk on her face, she reaches up her skirt, slipping off the lacy panties she wears underneath it. Balling them up, she deposits them into the pocket of said skirt and steps out of the stall. Reentering the hallway, she nonchalantly takes her time walking to the gym. 

She passes Principal Dunn’s office along the way and notices his door sits wide open. She thinks to herself that he would be a good person to have on her side, so on a whim, she decides to enter. He sits at his desk, engrossed in next year’s budget thinking how nice it will be for the school to finally have more money coming in. She clears her throat in an effort to grab his attention. He looks up at her, a smile brightening his face.

“Ms Pearson, what a nice surprise. What brings you by? I would think you’d be anxious to start your weekend.”

Walking a little closer to his desk she smiles down at him.

“Oh, I was just on my way to watch the big game that’s going on in the gym right now. I hope you’ll be making an appearance before you leave for the day.”

“Oh, right, right, the basketball game between the students and teachers. Why yes, I think I will stop by for a bit. For moral support you know.”

“Excellent, I look forward to seeing you there. I’ll be sure to save you a seat.”

“Perfect, I will see you in about 20 minutes or so.”

“Okay, it’s a date. Don’t stand me up now.” She gives him a wink before turning and walking out the door.

He watches her backside as she walks away. The thoughts in his head bringing a blush to his cheeks.”

xxxxx

She stands in the doorway of the gym, scanning the bleachers. On the bottom row she finds what she’s looking for. Taking off her street shoes, she walks around the edge of the court and along the bottom row of seats. There, close to center court, sits a variety of bags. She notices the pink ribbon on Arnold’s bag and walks towards it like an arrow that flies true to course, not stopping until she hits her intended bulls-eye. 

Sitting down in the middle of the bags, she watches the game for a bit. Catching Travis’s eye, he puckers his lips, sending her a little kiss. Arnold and Gerald see this and each roll their eyes at each other. The game has been stopped due to a personal foul when an overzealous senior proceeded to land a sharp elbow in Arnold’s side. Arnold stands now at the free throw line. 

The gym is quiet as he concentrates on the basket. Being the Free Throw King of PS 118, he’s pretty confident of making his shots. Bouncing the ball a couple of times, he holds the ball in two hands and with a swish, it’s nothing but net as it hits its mark, just as he and Gerald expected would happen. Giving Gerald a knowing smirk and a nod of his head, Arnold repeats the action with his second shot, eliciting a cheer from the fans that sit and watch.

Once the game is back in full swing, and all eyes are on the players, Amanda very slowly places her hand in her pocket, grabbing the panties she had stuck there earlier. It is her hope that either one of two things will happen. 1 – Helga will find the panties and go to Arnold wanting an explanation, or, 2 – Arnold will find them, thinking that they are Helga’s, and ask her why they are in his bag. Either scenario, she hopes, will cause a fight between the two love birds. So, while never taking her eyes off the game, she carefully transfers the panties from her pocket, to deep within Arnold’s bag. Slowly removing her hand she raises it as she cheers for Travis as he takes the ball full court to make a basket.

Her actions go mostly unnoticed, save for two very observant girls that sit in their usual spots at the very top of the bleachers. Tonya nudges Denise in the side with wide eyes.

“Did you see that?”

Denise looks at her with equally widened eyes.

“Yeah. What just happened, did she just put something in one of the player’s gym bags?”

“Yes,” Tonya hisses, “and not just any bag, that’s Mr. Shortman’s bag. I saw him walk in with it before the game.”

“What do you think it was she put in there?” Denise asks, truly curious now.

“I have no idea, but you can bet it’s nothing good!”

“Should we tell him?” Denise asks.

“I don’t know. She could deny that it’s hers, then it would just be her word against ours.”

Tonya takes a minute to contemplate the situation.

“You know, I bet you Mrs. Shortman will be more open to believing us then her husband. I might just have to pay her a visit, maybe tomorrow morning. After all, she did say to stop by anytime I wanted to talk, right?”

“That’s true, she did.” Denise nods her head in full agreement.

The rest of the game goes by with no other incidents. Mr. Dunn eventually joins the crowd in a show of his support for both teams, and sits with Amanda as promised. A half an hour later the crowd goes crazy when, with a final slam dunk by Gerald, the teachers win by a landslide. 

Tonya catches Blake’s eye and with a smile she points to him, then rubs her thumb back and forth across her other fingers reminding him that it is he who will be footing the bill for Winter Ball.


	50. Chapter 50

Gerald glides through the air as the gym sits in silence, all eyes following the ball that is held in his outstretched hands. Once hitting the precipice of his jump all time slows as he starts his decent. Reaching the basket, he slams the ball in, his hands gripping the rim leaving him to hang as the final buzzer sounds amid a sea of cheers. He lands on both feet, quickly to be surrounded by his fellow teammates, fists pumped high in the air, hands slapping him on his back. After a series of high-fives mixed with a couple of victory dances, the winners turn facing their opponents who stand panting hard, shoulders slumped, heads shaking in disbelief that they, once again, have lost to a bunch of aging jocks. 

Blake looks up into the stands and sees Tonya, smirk plastered across her face, blatantly rubbing his nose in his loss. He’s okay with it, though, because in reality there was no way he was going to let her pay even one penny in regards to Winter Ball. 

Travis parts from his band of reveling teammates and walks over to where Amanda stands next to a cheering Principal Dunn. He wraps his arms around her, lifting her off her feet, and swings her around. On the outside she’s all smiles while inside she cringes at his sweat filled embrace.

Gerald and Arnold engage in the same knuckle tapping handshake they’ve given each other since they were children. Walking to the bottom row of bleachers they each grab for their gym bags. Amanda watches out of the corner of her eye as Arnold grabs his and throws his sweaty face towel on top of the bag’s contents and zips it closed. Turning to leave the two are stopped by Blake and crew. The rest of the teachers walk up to the two men and stand by their sides in a show of support. Like a scene from West Side Story, each side eyes the other. Finally, Blake speaks for his group.

“Nice game tonight.” He says, extending a hand to Arnold, who graciously takes it, giving it a firm shake.

“Same to you guys, you put up quite a fight.”

“Yeah, well, me and the boys here were talking and we want to challenge all of you to a rematch, for fun, tomorrow morning at City Park.”

Arnold takes a moment to turn to his teammates, and they discuss the challenge that is placed before them. With a unanimous nod, they agree to the match.

“Okay,” Arnold says with a nod of his head. “What time?”

“Ten O’clock, center court, City Park. That is, if playing a match two days in a row isn’t too much for you old guys.”

“Oooohhh, that’s pretty big talk from a bunch of two time losers.” Gerald is quick to reply.

The boys take the comeback in jest just like it was meant and say a final good-bye to their teachers before going to meet up with their friends that wait for them in the bleachers.

xxxxx

Reaching Gerald’s car, Arnold throws his bag on the floor by his feet as they drive to the boarding house.

“You know,” Gerald says as they leave the parking lot. “I never get tired of wiping the court with those cocky jocks.”

“Yeah, it is a good feeling to put them in their place. They’re always so subdued for a couple of weeks after one of these games.”

After another moment of silence Gerald speaks up again. Arnold can feel the change in the atmosphere as he speaks. “So, I, uh, heard from Phoebe yesterday.”

Arnold’s eyes widen a bit as he turns to Gerald. “Really, that’s great. What did she have to say?”

Gerald’s fingers tap nervously on the steering wheel as he talks. “She said that she’s been spending a lot of time thinking about everything and that how important communication is if we’re to work things out. So she’s willing to start accepting phone calls from me now.”

Arnold’s voice is full of optimism as he speaks. “Hey, that’s a step forward, right?” 

Gerald can’t help but smile. “Yeah, it is. She also said that she’s definitely coming for Christmas and will be here for Rhonda’s New Year’s Eve party. She’s not 100% sure she’ll be attending the party as my date, but she did say we could at least hang out together.”

Arnold tries to keep his voice positive. “Well, that’s still good. At least she didn’t say for you to stay away from her.”

Gerald nods his head. “Right, that’s my thinking too. Um, has Helga told you anything about this?”

Arnold shakes his head. “No, not a word but even if she does know all about it, if Phoebe asked her not to say anything then you know her lips are sealed. She’s pretty faithful like that.”

“Yeah, you’ve at least got to give the girl that, she’s definitely a woman of her word.”

“Yep,” Arnold says, a big smile on his face, “that’s one of the many things I love about her.”

xxxxx  
Once they arrive at the boarding house, Arnold grabs his gym bag and says his good-byes to Gerald, confirming their plans to meet at City Park in the morning a half an hour early to warm up. Running up the outside steps he gives a shout in his best Ricky Ricardo accent as he walks past the threshold.

“Luuuuu-cy, I’m Hooooo-meee!”

From the kitchen, Helga can hear him, a smile forming as she stirs a pot of spaghetti sauce.

“I’m in the kitchen, Ricky!” She yells back, in an obviously failed attempt at sounding like the redheaded actress.

Finding her, he runs up behind her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. Burying his face deeply into the crook of her neck, his still sweat laden head brushes her cheek, the smell of his exertion on the court earlier drowning out the smell of the sauce that bubbles on the stove.

“Oh Arnold!” she yells as she waves her hand in front of her nose. “No offense, babe, but you stink!”

Arnold steps back and takes a deep breath in. “Ahhhhh, what you smell, my dear, is the scent of victory!” He raises a fist to the air on the last word. “Now give Papa a big kiss.”

“Oh no, not until you’ve showered, you’re positively nuclear.” 

Shoulders slumping he starts to turn around and walk away. “Awww, you’re no fun.”

Looking to the floor Helga spots the gym bag, kicking it to him she gives a yell. “And throw this down into the basement will ya? I’ll empty it when I do laundry tomorrow.”

Turning back he picks up the old, worn bag and throws it down the basement stairs on his way to shower. Tumbling downwards it stops a few feet from the last step, where it stays until the next day.

xxxxx

By the time Arnold is presentable once again dinner is cooked and on the table. Phillip sits in his carrier on the tabletop happily gurgling at his mommy as she dishes out two plates of spaghetti and meatballs. It’s just jarred sauce and frozen meatballs, but at least she’s cooked the pasta without making it too soft and starchy so she deems the meal a success. Pouring some Italian dressing on the salad, she mixes it up and places it in the bowls that sit next to their dinner plates. She pours them each a glass of red wine, one of her allotted two drink per week maximum, and slowly sips as she waits.

She looks up as he enters the kitchen. He’s dressed in his raggedy sweat pants and old, holey nightshirt. His hair is still wet and sticks up in that untidy way that she just loves. Something stirs deep inside of her as she watches him. Sitting across from her, he looks at his dinner then back up at her. He notices that her eyes have darkened to a deep royal blue, the color they get when her passion is at its highest. He swallows the lump in his throat that her intense stare causes and has to pull his eyes away in order to gather his thoughts. As he turns, they land on his son who sits contentedly looking up at him. He has the same blue eyes as his mother although at barely over two months old they still could very well change color. After spending a minute smiling at his son, he is finally able to look back at his wife without having to fight the urge to brush everything off the table top and take her right then and there.

((Story break – that last sentence was for you, Wendy, lmao!! Sorry for the interruption, now back to the story.))

Grabbing his wine glass, he lifts it in a toast. “To victory!” He proclaims.

“Ahhh,yes, to victory!” She raises her glass to gently tap it to his then watches him as she takes a sip.

He looks back at her and wishes she’d stop staring at him. Her eyes drill right through to the core of him, making him shift in his seat, the image of them on top of the kitchen table burned in his mind. When she mentions his antsy behavior he blames it on residual adrenaline left over from the game. He tries hard to get his mind out of the gutter.

“So, we’ve been challenged to a rematch, tomorrow at City Park.”

“Heh, those jocks don’t know when to admit defeat, do they.”

Arnold gives a little chuckle. “Ha, yeah, they don’t know when to quit. But that’s okay, we’re ready to put them in their places yet again. Think you’ll be able to make it?”

“I might, after I get a few things done around here first. You going to need anything out of your gym bag? I can wash what’s in there tonight if you want.”

Arnold thinks about it before shaking his head. “Naw, I’ve got enough stuff around here that I can wear. No need to rush it.”

Arnold changes the subject now to Gerald and Phoebe. “So, Gerald told me he heard from Phoebe yesterday.”

Helga’s ears perk up a bit at the mention of her best friend. “Oh, really. What did he have to say?”

Arnold eyes her, looking for clues that she may already know what he’s about to say. “Oh, not much, only that she’s agreed to phone calls from Gerald now with the possibility of maybe going to Rhonda’s party with him. Has she – talked to you about any of this?”

Helga is slow to respond. “Perhaps. A little.”

Arnold gives her a smirk. “Heh, I thought so. Well, at least it’s a step in the positive direction.”

The rest of the meal is spent in idle conversation. The droning sound of his parent’s voices slowly put Phillip to sleep. As Helga grabs the child and heads to the nursery, Arnold quickly clears the table and cleans up the dishes. Once finished he heads to the nursery where he finds Helga staring lovingly down at their baby. Coming up alongside of her he wraps his arms around her waist. He starts kissing her neck as his hands roam her body. She makes the suggestion that they take their antics elsewhere.

As they leave the nursery Helga heads for their bedroom. Grabbing her hand, Arnold stops her and heads back towards the stairs, pulling her along with him.

“Arnold, where are you going? The bedroom’s this way.” She says in confusion. 

“Yeah,” Arnold replies as he leers back towards her, “but the kitchen’s downstairs.”

xxxxx

The next morning Tonya paces the floor of her bedroom as she talks to Denise on the phone.

“Yeah, I know, Denise, I think I’m going to head over there right now on my way to the park, and let her know about what Ms Pearson did.”

“Do you think they’ve already discovered what’s in the bag?” Denise asks from the other end of the phone.

“I hope not, that’s why I want to head over there now, before they have a chance to find out.”

“Okay, well, good luck. I’ll meet you at the park later then. Bye.”

Tonya hangs up her phone and grabbing a jacket makes her way over to the boarding house, running her excuse for stopping by over and over in her head. Once she’s arrived she stands on the sidewalk for a moment gathering her courage to walk up the steps. Taking a deep breath she quickly climbs them and gives a loud knock on the door, not giving herself time to wuss out.

She hears footsteps on the other side of the door before it opens, showing a startled Helga on the other side.

“Tonya, what a nice surprise. What are you doing here? I thought you’d be busy with this morning’s game.”

Suddenly, and unsure as to why, Tonya finds herself a bit shy. “I – uh. I remembered your offer to me of stopping by whenever I felt like talking, and, I. I thought I’d like to see you for a few minutes before heading to the game.”

“Well that’s wonderful, come on in.” Helga steps aside, making room for Tonya to enter the house.

Tonya looks around and takes in her surroundings. Not much has changed in the old boarding house since Arnold lived in it as a young boy. Other than a few updates and some fresh paint and wallpaper it really was a blast from the past. A little hidden antique among the newer, refurbished shops and apartments along Vine St. The interior is much bigger than the outside suggests and Tonya is taken aback by the size of the rooms.

“Wow, is this all yours?” She says as she checks out the bottom floor.

“Well, it belongs to Arnold’s grandparents, but when they go it will totally transfer into his hands. So, yeah, I guess in a way it is.

“Do you still take in boarders?”

“No, we haven’t since I became pregnant with Phillip, and if we’re lucky, we’re hoping to not have to anymore. At least, not as a means of survival. If we ever had a friend or family member that needed a place to stay we’d certainly have the room for them. Come on, let’s go sit in the family room.”

Helga leads Tonya over to the couch and motions for the girl to take a seat.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Helga asks.

“N-no, that’s okay. I won’t be staying long, I gotta be getting over to the park soon.”

They hear loud footsteps on the stairs as Arnold comes bounding down, shirtless and running his fingers through his messy hair. “Hellll-gaaaaa!” He yells “Where are youuuuuuu?”

Giggling, Helga yells back. “We’re in the family room. Stop shouting.”

“We’re? Whose we’re? You got Philly Boy with you?” Arnold questions as he enters the room. 

“Nope.” Helga answers. Arnold stops short, surprised to see Tonya sitting with his wife.

“Oh, hey there Tonya.” Arnold says, a bit embarrassed as his hand comes up to rub the back of his neck.

Tonya can’t help but think that he looks like a little boy as he stands there barefooted and wearing baggy sweats. She notices the muscles in his bare arms and chest and does her utmost best not to swoon in front of the two adults. Arnold notices her stare and realizes for the first time that he’s not wearing a shirt. With flushed cheeks he quickly puts on the one he’s holding as Helga watches the interaction between the two, while chuckling under her breath. 

After he’s put his shirt on Helga gets up and wraps her arms around his waist, giving him a big kiss. As they look into each other’s eyes, Tonya can see the love that they share and she is surer now than ever that she will do her best to keep that witch of a teacher from coming between the two.

Looking at Tonya Arnold gives her a slight nod of the head. “I hate to have to leave the company of two such beautiful ladies, but duty calls and I must go teach some young upstarts a lesson in minding their elders. I’m sure I will see you at the park, Tonya?”

“Oh, yes, Mr. Shortman, I’ll be there before the game starts.”

“Very well then.” Giving Helga another kiss, he rushes off to get his shoes. “See you there then.”

Once gone Helga sits back down and turns to look at Tonya. “So, we’re alone now. Tell me, what’s the real reason you’re here this morning?”


	51. Chapter 51

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, 50 chapters in with no end in sight. Thank you all so much for your faithfulness in following what started out to be just a simple slice of life tale. I don’t know where it will go once Amanda has been put in her place, but I hope you will all stick around to find out. Please enjoy this next chapter……………..

Tonya sits with her hands in her lap, not sure just where to begin or how much Helga needs to know of her little band of spies. She decides it best for the time being that Helga knows only as much as necessary so she holds off on dragging the rest of her friends into the mix. 

“Well, I’ve come to let you know of something Denise and I saw while watching yesterday’s basketball game.”

“Okaaay, you’ve got my attention.” Helga says, her curiosity totally piqued now.

“Okay, so Denise and I were sitting up in the top row of bleachers, where we always sit when watching Mr. Johan…. I mean, the basketball team practice.” Her cheeks grow red at the unintended slip. “So we’re watching the game when we notice Ms Pearson come walking into the gym.”

Helga’s eyes narrow a bit at the mention of the homewrecker. “I’m sure she was just interested in watching Travis – I mean, Mr. Cooper, play. Right?”

“Yeah, that’s what we figured at first, but then she did something weird.”

Helga raises an eyebrow. “Weird? How so?”

“Well, she sat down at the bottom row of seats. We figured she just wanted to be closer to the action. But as we were watching her we noticed her taking something out of her pocket and it looked like she put whatever it was into Mr. Shortman’s gym bag.”

“Really now?” Helga says, the wheels starting to spin in her head. “Could you tell what it was?”

“No, unfortunately not, and we’re not even really sure we saw what we think we did, but we felt you should know just in case.”

“This is all very interesting. Thank you for coming to me. Have you told anyone else?”

“No, no one but you. We’re dying to know what it was she put in the bag though.”

Helga thinks for a moment before shaking her head. “No, I don’t think that’s a very good idea right now. The less you know, the better. That way, if you’re asked about anything you can honestly say you don’t know without having to lie.”

“But……….”

Helga cuts her off before she can continue. “I tell you what, once this whole thing has blown over and put behind us, I promise to tell you everything, Okay?”

Not liking it, but having no choice, Tonya gives in. “I guess we have no choice but to agree.”

“Believe me, Tonya, I really appreciate you and Denise having our backs like this, but promise me you’ll keep out of it from now on. I don’t want either of you getting into trouble over this. I’ll take it from here.”

Mentally crossing her fingers behind her back, and choosing her words carefully, Tonya agrees to keep her nose clean. “Okay, no more meddling into what was in the gym bag. We’ll let you take care of that.”

Helga smiles, thinking she’s gotten her point across when Phillip’s cry can be heard over the monitor. Taking that as her cue to leave, Tonya gets up. “Okay, well, I should be getting over to the park. I hope we’ll see you there.”

Helga walks her to the front door. “Maybe. I have a few things to take care of here and if I get them done I may take Phillip over to see his daddy play.”

Tonya starts to walk down the front steps then turns and gives Helga a solemn look. “Oh, and Mrs. Shortman, just so you know, we’ve all got your back.”

Before having the chance to ask what she means by that, Tonya turns and runs down the steps. Leaving Helga to shake her head as she closes the door and heads to the nursery to tend to a now wailing Phillip.

xxxxx

Once Phillip is tended to Helga places him back into his crib and turns on the musical mobile that hangs over him. He watches as the various jungle animals dance in a continuous circle above his head. Making sure to take her end of the baby monitor with her, she heads down to the basement to deal with the now mysterious gym bag.

Making her way downstairs she finds the bag where Arnold left it the previous night, in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. She picks it up as she walks over to the washer. Upon opening it the first thing that hits her is the stench of sweaty clothes that were left to stew in their own juices way longer than necessary. Waving a hand in front of her nose she pulls each item out one by one, dropping them into the waiting washer. As she gets to the bottom she looks inside and notices something dark that stands out against his white gym socks. Reaching in very carefully, and using just the very tips of her fingers, she slowly pulls out a pair of lace panties.

She chuckles to herself as she holds them out in front of her. “Oh, Amanda, we are a desperate little thing, aren’t we.” 

Dropping them into the washer she throws the rest of Arnold’s dirty gym clothes on top of them. She verbalizes a message, sending it directly to Amanda as she closes the lid and starts up the machine. “Enjoy the ride, Amanda, cause that’s the closest you’ll ever get to Arnold’s boxers.”

Walking back up the stairs, she plans her next move in this odd little game of chess they seem to have going on between them. She laughs over how very little Amanda really knows Arnold. If she truly knew the man, she’d know that there is absolutely no way he’d ever engage in any sort of infidelities against his wife. Helga knows this, and that’s why she trusts him without question. She goes about her chores as she waits for the wash cycle to end. Once done, she transfers the clothes to the dryer and begins the first phase of her newly established plan.

Walking to one of the hall closets, she pulls out a small box and some bright wrapping paper. When she hears the ding of the dryer she calmly walks downstairs to fold Arnold’s clothes, placing them back into his bag. Taking the now clean panties, she walks into the kitchen where she has her supplies all laid out. Placing a piece of hot pink tissue paper into the small box, she lays the panties on top of it, folding the sides of the tissue in to wrap them up. She places a short note she’s written on top of the tissue paper and puts the lid on the box. Grabbing some bright wrapping paper and ribbon, she makes the package as festive as possible. With a smirk on her face, she takes the small gift over to the desk her laptop sits on and buries it deep into the top drawer. She then picks up the phone, calling her sister. Her smile widens and her eyes narrow as she greets Olga.

“Hey, sis. I was wondering if you were free Monday and would like to hang out. I have an errand that I may need help with.”

xxxxx

With the matter handled for now, Helga suddenly loses the urge to catch up on her chores and decides to pack Phillip up and head over to City Park. On a warmer day, she would have placed Little Phil in his stroller and walked the few miles to the park, but with the cold weather they’ve been having lately she’s opted to drive there instead. Once parked, she places Phillip into a front carrier so he sits facing her, all snuggled up to her chest. Throwing a diaper bag over her shoulder she heads towards the courts.

She can hear the shouts and cheers as she approaches the small crowd that surrounds one of the park’s basketball courts. As she approaches she scans the spectators as they cheer on their teams. She sees Tonya and her small group of friends, their eyes glued to the players as they run back and forth across the court. Something is missing, though, and she is surprised to find that Amanda is nowhere to be seen. “Too bad.” She thinks to herself, she would have loved to have engaged in some head games with the woman, leaving her to wonder if she’s found her little gift yet or not. 

Finally being spotted, Tonya waves her over. “Mrs. Shortman! Come on over, we’ve saved you a spot.”

Helga makes her way over to the small set of bleachers that the girls sit in. Sitting next to Tonya the girls gush over Little Phil. Tonya gives Helga a questioning look to which Helga replies with a nod and a smile. Happy to know that Amanda’s gift is in capable hands, Tonya turns her attention back to the game. 

After another hour of play the game ends with yet another victory for the teachers, although by a much narrower margin this time. Proving that they are gracious winners, the teachers invite the losing team, along with their ardent fans, to ice cream at Slausen’s, their treat. 

Come Sunday morning, more than a couple of the teachers find that it takes a great amount of effort just to force their sore bodies out of bed, making note to allow at least a three day break between any future games.

xxxxx

By the time Monday has rolled around Arnold has been able to work at least most of the kinks out of his body. He sits down to a quick breakfast as he waits for Gerald to come pick him up for work. Placing two plates filled with scrambled eggs and toast on the table, Helga enquires about the old Packard.

“Any word from Artie on when the Packard will be ready?”

Taking a bite of toast, Arnold chews a bit before answering. “Yeah, he said he’s still waiting on some parts. Gonna be at least a week. You don’t mind having to pick me up do you?”

“No, of course not. It gives me and Phillip a reason to leave the house. Besides, this is the last week of school before winter break so it will only be for a short time.”

They hear Gerald’s car horn as Arnold shoves the last bite of egg into his mouth. Getting up, he kisses his wife and son before running out the door. “Okay then, see you at three!”

Once Arnold is gone, and the dishes are picked up, Helga gives her sister a call. As she waits for Olga to arrive at the house, she takes the package from her desk drawer and puts it into the diaper bag. She’s asked Olga to drive, and once she’s there, she loads Phillip’s car seat into the back of the car and sits next to her sister up front. As Olga takes off she finally puts her plan in action.

“Hey, Olga, before we get to Budnick’s, would you mind making a quick stop at the high school?”

“I’d be glad to, Helga, but whatever do we need to stop there for?”

“I, uh, need you to do me a favor. I have a, um, gift for one of the teachers. It’s sort of a surprise. I’d like for you to take it to the attendance office and have the girl working behind the counter put it in the person’s box.”

“Why do I have to do it? Why can’t you?”

“Because they know me there, and I want this to be a total surprise. You know, for fun.”

“Well, I guess I can do that.”

“Excellent.” Helga says as she pulls the small box out of the diaper bag. 

Once at the school Helga hands the box over to Olga with specific instructions to tell the attendance aide that the present is to go into the box of Ms Amanda Pearson. Once the gift is handed over, Olga is to turn and leave without any further conversation. Doing as told, Olga makes her way into the school. Helga scans the parking lot, making sure no one is around to see her. Just to be on the safe side, though, she slips down so as not to be seen through the window.

As Gina busies herself at the attendance desk, she looks up at the sound of the opening door. Not recognizing the woman that is approaching her she studies her carefully. The woman looks nervous as she approaches the desk and brings out a small package she had been hiding behind her back.

Clearing her throat, Olga puts her many years of acting skills to work. “I wonder if you could do me a favor and put this in Amanda Pearson’s box please.”

Gina looks at the festively wrapped package and takes it from the woman. “Is there a note or anything to go with it?” She asks.

“Oh, no. No need for a note, it’s a surprise.” 

“Um, okay, no problem then.”

Olga gives her a sweet smile and, not wanting to linger, turns to leave. Finding the whole transaction a bit weird, Gina makes a note to definitely mention this the next time her and her friends are together.

Heading back to the car Helga stays lowered in her seat until they are out of the school’s parking lot. 

“Now can you tell me what’s going on?” Olga asks as Helga sits doubled over with laughter.

Catching her breath, Helga fills her sister in on the whole Amanda story. Once done she makes Olga swear that she won’t say a word about it to anyone.

“Promise me on your life that you won’t even tell Samuel.”

“I promise Baby Sister, but don’t you think you should tell Arnold what’s going on?”

“I will, when the time is right. For now though, he has enough to worry about just keeping the bitch at bay. Don’t worry, Olga, by the time this is all over that witch will rue the day she chose to mess with us.”

“If you’re sure, Helga.” Olga says, not really sure that she likes where all this is headed.

xxxxx

By the time school has let out for the day Amanda is ready to go home and curl up with a good book and a glass of wine. Stopping at the attendance office she notices the package that sits waiting for her in her box. Smiling, she grabs the gift looking for a tag to tell her who it’s from. Not finding one, she just assumes it’s from Travis, chalking it up to one of his lame attempts to woo her. 

Pulling off the ribbon, and ripping at the paper, she opens the box to find a note written on a folded piece of plain paper. Opening it, her brow furrows as she reads it.

“Dear Amanda,  
Check.”

Picking up on the obvious chess term, Amanda carefully opens the tissue paper revealing the panties that sit beneath it. She stands there, furious that her little escapade did not have the intended effect she so dearly wanted. She throws the package into the nearby trashcan, then rips up the note throwing away the pieces. Storming out of the office she places the panties into her pocket. That’s twice Helga has gotten the better of her and so she feels now that she has no choice but to up the game. As she leaves she’s watched by Heather, who nonchalantly enters the room. Seeing the torn package and bits of paper in the trashcan, she gathers up the evidence, making sure to get every last piece of the torn note.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you’re confused by the meaning behind Helga’s little note, don’t worry. It will be explained in a chapter or two from now.


	52. Chapter 52

Before being dropped off at home, Helga has her sister stop by Green Meats. With her task completed, she felt like a celebratory dinner was in order. The few cooking lessons she’s been getting from Olga have built up her confidence and she’s decided to try a new recipe completely on her own. Leaving Phillip in the car with his Aunt, she heads into the butcher shop. As she opens the door it sets off the bell that heralds in her arrival. Stepping out from the back of the shop, Patty gives a big smile as she sees who her latest customer is.

Even though the butcher shop is just down the street from the boarding house, it’s been a while since Helga has seen Patty. She looks her up and down now, noticing the baby bump that wasn’t there at the Labor Day party she and Harold threw last September. Looking at her face Helga notices the rosy glow of expectant motherhood and actually misses being pregnant. She wonders where in the world that thought has come from, and has to give her head a good shake to get rid of any ideas that may be trying to take root in the back of her mind. 

With her head cleared, she greets her friend. “Patty! It’s so good to see you. Look at you, you look great.”

Patty comes around the counter to hug her friend. “So do you. It sure didn’t take you long to get your figure back.”

Helga looks down at herself. “Well, it’s got to be all the energy it takes looking after a little one, that plus all those boarding house stairs, who needs a gym. But, seriously, you’re looking great. How far along are you now?”

“Five months and counting! Oh, hey, before I forget, Harold and I have something for Phillip.”

Running up the stairs to the apartment that sits above the butcher shop, Patty disappears, leaving Helga to peruse the meat counter. She printed out a recipe for stuffed pork chops earlier in the day and spies two very likely candidates as they stare back at her from behind the glass display case. After a few moments she hears footsteps, followed by Patty’s voice.

“Here,” Patty says, holding a small, wrapped box out to Helga. “We wanted to give you something to celebrate Phillip’s first Christmas.”

Helga is touched as she accepts the gift and opens it. Inside the box is a brightly painted ornament. It’s of a rocking horse that has the words “Baby’s First Christmas”, along with Phillip’s name and the current year’s date written across it. Helga is touched at their friend’s thoughtfulness and gives Patty a big hug.

“Oh, Patty, I love it. Its Phillip’s first Christmas present. I can’t wait to show Arnold. Thank you so much!”

With a bit of a blush Patty hugs her back. “Oh it’s nothing, just something we saw and thought it’d make a nice keepsake. Now, what can I get for you today? A nice roast perhaps?”

Remembering the last time she tried to cook a “nice roast”, Helga grimaces to herself and shakes her head.

“No, actually I’ve got my eye on two of your thick cut pork chops over here.”

Helga points out the two she’s been eying and once they are wrapped up and paid for she says her good-byes and heads back to Olga’s car.

“Do you have everything you need, Baby Sister?” Olga asks, and with a nod of Helga’s head they head back to the boarding house.

xxxxx

Saying her good-byes to Olga, Helga walks up the front steps and notices a package that has been left by the front door. Picking up the small box, she unlocks the door and heads inside. She notices that it’s addressed to Phillip and is from Phoebe. She’s anxious to see what it is but decides to wait until after she’s picked up Arnold from work before opening it. She leaves it on the entryway table as she heads upstairs to nurse Phillip and put him down for his nap. 

She sits rocking her baby as he greedily nurses and she thinks about how her body reacted upon seeing a pregnant Patty. After all the problems she and Arnold had to deal with towards the latter part of her pregnancy she’s amazed that the thought of having a second child so soon would even enter her mind. She wonders if all of Arnold’s teasing about having a house full of children was actually starting to have an effect on her. Once again she pushes the thought away and decides that there’s no way in hell she’s going to mention it to him. 

Once Phillip is down she checks the clock and sees that there’s just enough time to get the pork chops started before she has to leave and pick up Arnold from work. If she times it right she can leave them in the oven to cook while she heads for the school.

Checking the recipe she gathers the ingredients and starts making the stuffing. This time she has made sure to leave enough time to brown the chops before putting them in the oven. There was no way she was going to make that mistake twice. Once the stuffing is done she sets about trying to cut a pocket into the side of the pork chops, which isn’t as easy as it sounds. Not being very adept with a knife, she’s a bit off center when slicing through the meat but figures it probably won’t matter. 

Shoving as much of the filling as she can into the pockets she’s made she attempts to close them up with toothpicks without losing too much of the mix. Placing them in the old cast iron skillet that was handed down to her by Gertie, she starts to brown them. She’s finding it difficult to turn them without losing the stuffing and is starting to get frustrated. Not realizing just how hot cast iron can get, she turns her back on them to start peeling some potatoes and after a few minutes realizes that something is beginning to burn. With wide eyes she turns to the stove and catches the pork chops just before they reach the point of no return. 

Removing them from the hot skillet, she puts them into a small roasting pan and goes to put them in the oven to bake. When she opens the oven door she realizes that, like with the roast, she’s forgotten to preheat it. Not having time to wait for it to preheat she turns it on and hopes for the best. With the potatoes cut and ready to be boiled for mashing, she leaves them on the stove so she can start them after she picks up Arnold.

Looking at the clock on the wall she sees that she’s late and needs to get to the school. Hating to wake Phillip, she picks him up as carefully as she can and places him in his carrier. Snapping it into the base she takes off.

xxxxx

Arnold waits patiently in the parking lot of the high school, wondering what could be keeping Helga. It’s not like her to be late without calling and he’s just beginning to get worried when he sees her car pulling into the lot. Relieved, he picks up his briefcase and waves her down. As he gets in the car and leans in to give her a kiss, he picks up the scent of burned meat in her hair. His mind goes back to the last time he’s smelled that familiar smell and does his best to stifle a laugh. The smile, however, is not so easy to hide. Helga gives him a suspicious look.

“What’s got you grinning from ear to ear?” She asks.

“What? Nothing, can’t I just be happy to see my wife after a long day?”

Not believing him, she turns her eyes back towards the parking lot. “Mmm-hmm. Anyway, how was your day?”

“Oh, it was fine. How was yours? What did you do today?”

She skips over her little covert mission from earlier and jumps to lunch with Olga. “Ohh, not much, had lunch with my sister. Oh, I stopped at Green Meat’s and saw Patty. Do you realize that she’s already five months pregnant?”

“Wow, that’s gone by fast. How are they doing?”

“Really good. She gave Phillip an early Christmas gift, it’s an adorable ornament.”

“Aw, well, that was nice of them. So, you stopped at the butcher shop. So I take it you’ve had another cooking lesson?”

“Nope, this time I’m on my own. Stuffed pork chops. They’re cooking right now and should be ready when we get home.”

Outwardly Arnold gives her a big smile, but he can’t help but wonder just what it is that will be waiting for them when they get home.

xxxxx

As they enter the boarding house the first thing that hits them is the smell of roasting meat. Happy that Helga hasn’t burned the house down while they were away, Arnold carries Phillip upstairs with him as he changes out of his work clothes. He notices his gym bag sitting on the bed and peeks inside to find it filled with fresh clothes. He smiles at Helga’s thoughtfulness as he puts it on a chair along with his briefcase. After he’s changed into more comfortable clothing he takes Little Phil out of his carrier and lays him on the bed. Stretching out next to him he plays with his son, mimicking Phillip’s gurgling and cooing while downstairs Helga checks on their dinner.

Putting the potatoes on to boil, she peeks into the oven and checks on the pork chops. Pulling them out she sticks a meat thermometer into the first one to find it still way below the cooked mark for pork. She blames that fact on not giving the oven enough time to preheat and raises the temperature, swearing this time to keep a closer watch on things. She makes a salad then decides to join Arnold upstairs. 

Grabbing the ornament from Patty and the box from Phoebe she enters the bedroom to see Arnold sound asleep next to his son who lays next to him, still cooing and blowing bubbles.

“Some babysitter.” She says as she sits next to the two and hits Arnold in the stomach with her pillow.

“Hey! What was that for?” Arnold says as he’s jolted awake.

“THAT, is for sleeping on the job, and THIS,” she proceeds to hit him in the face this time, “is for looking so damn cute while you do it!”

He grabs the pillow from her. “Oh yeah?” He says as he starts to aim for her head. As the pillow connects with the top of her head it elicits a scream from a scared Phillip. They both look at each other before turning to their son.

Helga picks Phillip up, holding him to her chest as she sticks her tongue out at Arnold. “Oh Philly Boy, did daddy scare you?” 

“What?” Arnold yells, “Me? You’re the one that started it.”

Helga gives him a giggle as she calms their son. “Oh, hey, I brought up the ornament from Patty and Harold, and the package from Phoebe. Open it up, I’m dying to know what it is.”

Arnold takes the small package and carefully opens it. Inside is a beautiful silver bell, the type one would imagine adorning Santa’s sleigh. It’s a good 2 ½ inches in diameter and is engraved in a delicate script. Just like the rocking horse, it has the words “Baby’s First Christmas” written on it, along with Phillip’s name and the year. They compare the two ornaments and can’t help but to giggle.

“Well, at least we’ll never forget Phillip’s first Christmas.” Arnold jokes.

Helga holds Phillip close to her chest, her cheek resting on his head as she watches Arnold’s face. She can see the love in his eyes as he looks at his son and she can’t help but wonder how he’d feel to have a daughter. Someone to be referred to as “Daddy’s Little Girl.” Again she catches herself in her daydream and gives her head a quick shake. Arnold notices this and is about to say something when the smell of burned meat makes its way up the stairs. Catching the scent at the same time, Helga lets out a slight gasp as she shoves Phillip into Arnold’s arms.

“The Pork Chops!!” She yells as she runs out the door, leaving Arnold to hold Phillip as the child starts screaming once again.

xxxxx

Running to the stove Helga notices that more than half the water has boiled out of the pot that holds the potatoes. Turning the gas off under the burner, she then swings open the oven door. Pulling out the pork chops she is relieved to find that most of the burned smell is actually coming from the stuffing that has fallen out of the pork chops, and not the chops themselves. Placing them on top of the stove she turns her attention back to the over boiled potatoes. Draining the soggy mess the best she can, she adds a little butter and a touch of milk and mashes them up. They don’t mound very well and she hopes they at least taste okay.

Eventually Arnold comes walking downstairs with a semi-placated Phillip in his arms. Setting the baby swing up in the kitchen, he places Phillip in it so they can watch him while they eat. Walking over to the stove, he looks at the runny potatoes and overcooked meat. It warms his heart to see Helga trying so hard and makes a promise to eat it all no matter what it tastes like.

Placing two salads on the table, Helga serves up their dinner and sits across from Arnold. She looks at her dinner and takes a deep breath. “Well, here goes nothing.” She says as she cuts into her meat.

Stabbing the cut piece with her fork, she holds it up to her face and examines it. It’s a little on the dry side but at least it’s hot all the way through. Arnold watches her as she places the bite in her mouth. It takes a bit of chewing, but it goes down without a problem. “I think we’re okay.” She says as she cuts another piece.

Taking his que from Helga, Arnold digs into his meal, relieved that it actually tastes okay. 

“So,” He says through a mouth full of pork, “What do you want to do tomorrow?”

 

“I was thinking, since Philip has two ornaments of his own now, we should go get a tree. Peterson Farms has extended their days of operation for the holidays. Maybe we could go visit Stinky and Lila and get a tree while we’re there.”

Arnold thinks about it for a moment and nods his head. “That’s a good idea, plus, they haven’t seen Phillip since he was born. Okay, let’s do it. We can make a day of it.”

“Excellent, I’ll call Lila later and let her know we’re coming.” Helga says as she saws through her pork chop.

xxxxx

Later that night Helga stretches out on the couch in the family room and gives Phoebe a call to thank her for Phillip’s ornament. It rings a few times before Phoebe finally picks it up.

Phoebe sounds distracted as she answers the phone. “Hello?” She says almost more as a question than a statement.

“Hey Pheebs, it’s Helga.”

“Oh, Helga, hi. How’s it going?”

“Everything’s great here. We got Phillip’s ornament today, it’s beautiful, thank you.”

“It got there already? That was quick. I’m glad you like it. I saw it and had to get it for Phillip, his first ornament.”

“Yeah, his very first. So how’s school going? You looking forward to break?”

“Yes, I am! After Gerald’s visit at Thanksgiving I was considering signing up for a winter class, but after thinking about it I decided I was going to need a break.”

“Sooo, have you decided where you’re going to be staying when you come?”

“I’m still thinking my parent’s house will be the best place. I’ve just started talking to Gerald again and I don’t want to rush things.”

“You know, Phoebe, Gerald’s reall………”

“I know what you’re going to say, Helga. I know how sorry he is, and I know he won’t try anything like that again. But I also know how I get around him and if I stay with him I know I won’t be able to resist him and I don’t want to rush into anything until I’m absolutely ready.”

“I guess I can understand that. God forbid I ever try to resist Arnold.” She gives a little chuckle before getting serious again. “Just do what’s best for you. Plus, if your parents start driving you too crazy, you can always stay here.”

It’s Phoebe’s time to chuckle now. “Okay, Helga, I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Well, I hate to cut this short, but I have a huge test coming up and I really need to get back to studying.”

“Okay, Pheebs. It was good hearing your voice.”

“Yeah, same here. Give that baby and husband of yours big kisses for me. I’ll see you soon.”

Hanging up, Helga is sad over how much she misses her friend, but excited to be seeing her soon. Making her way upstairs she checks on Phillip before quietly walking into the bedroom. The moon shines through the window casting its glow on Arnold’s face. She crawls into bed and watches him sleep for a bit, lightly tracing his features with her finger. She thinks about the two times today when her mind strayed over to the idea of having another baby and wonders where that came from. She knows how happy Arnold would be to become a father again, but now? If she got pregnant now their kids would only be 12 months apart. “That’s crazy, right?” She asks herself. Still nursing, and now being on the pill again, she figures it must be hormones that are making her think such crazy thoughts. “But then again, Arnold would certainly be happy.” Naw, she tells herself, that’s crazy talk.

She shimmies down under the covers, working her way into Arnold’s arms. He stirs a bit, reaching out to grab her and pull her close to him. Holding her arms over his, she snuggles back into him and closes her eyes, falling into a contented sleep.


	53. Chapter 53

It’s a little on the early side, but Gina is already at her post in the attendance office. She’s got a test to study for and wanted a place away from her friends to study. She knows the attendance office will be pretty empty until right before the first bell, which is why she chooses to set up shop there. She sits at a small table just outside the room where the teacher’s mailboxes are kept. A few early bird teachers have come and gone already, mostly ignoring her as they pass on by on the way to their boxes. She sees Ms Abernathy walk past, giving Gina a friendly nod. Gina smiles in return then turns towards the door as Travis Cooper comes walking in. Again Gina pays little attention, until she hears their muted conversation. She leans back in her chair until the back of her head rests on the wall. Leaning a bit towards the open door, she gets an earful of what’s being said. 

Travis reaches into his mailbox, pulling out a folded note. He recognizes Amanda’s flowing script immediately and a smile starts to play on his lips. Hearing his name, he refolds the note, placing it in his pocket. 

“Oh, hey Sally. I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

Sally speaks up a little louder. “I said good morning, but you were distracted by a note from an admirer perhaps?” She raises an eyebrow questioningly.

“Huh? Oh, no, ha ha. Just a note from Ms Pearson.”

“Ohhh. You two have been spending a lot of time together, anything serious?”

“Serious?” Travis thinks about him and Amanda for a moment. Just what were they? He knows how he feels, and he thinks she’s on the same page, at least that’s the feeling he gets from her. “Well, you might say that’s the direction we’re moving in.”

Sally gives him a look that he can’t quite decipher. “Oh, that’s interesting.”

Her response comes off as a bit judgmental and it annoys him. “What do you mean by interesting?” 

“Oh, well, it’s nothing, really. It just makes me wonder what she was doing with Arnold the other morning before work if she’s in a serious relationship with you.”

His mind casts back to the last two times he’s witnessed Arnold and Amanda together, his annoyance slowly starting to turn to anger. “What do you mean? Just where and when did you see them?”

Seeing his red face, Sally starts to take back what she had said. “Oh, well, I’m sure it was nothing, just a coincidence. I’m sure there’s no way they had come from the Travel Lodge.”

“What?” Travis all but yells as he takes a step towards her, “You saw them coming out of the Travel Lodge? When? When was this?”

Sally looks at him with shocked eyes now, quickly regretting even bringing the two of them up. “I never said I saw them coming OUT of the motel, they were just standing in front of it. Nothing more, it was completely innocent I’m sure.”

Travis counts to ten, trying hard to control his words. “And just when was it you saw the two of them just happen to be standing in front of the Travel Lodge before work?”

Sally is extremely nervous now and wishing she had just kept her big mouth shut. “It-it was sometime last week, like Wednesday or Friday.”

Travis thinks back to the prior week. He remembers seeing Helga after school one day looking for Arnold. He glares at Sally. “You mean the day his car broke down and he walked to work?”

“Well, if that’s the excuse they used….”

“What do you mean, excuse? Of course it was car trouble, Helga even came to the school to pick him up. As a matter of fact, I just saw her the other day picking him up after work, so no. You’re wrong, Amanda probably just passed him by just like you did and stopped to offer him a ride. The rest of what you think you saw is just coincidence.”

She starts to slip around him and head for the door to make her escape. “Sure, that’s it. It’s all just coincidence. Strange though, that particular part of downtown is pretty far from the boarding house and his normal route to work. Even if he did have car trouble, it makes one wonder what he was doing in that part of town so early in the morning, but like you said, I’m sure there’s nothing to it. I-I’ve got to be getting ready for my class. I’ll see ya, Travis.”

She leaves him standing alone, her words milling around in his head. He fingers the note that sits in his pocket and knows that Sally is wrong, but decides to ask Amanda about it later regardless. He chalks it up to a lonely, bitter woman who’s own life is so boring she has to stick her nose into other’s lives for excitement. Knowing that most of the other teachers are not in to believing idle gossip, he hopes that the rumor has not spread too far.

Gina almost falls out of her chair as Ms Abernathy quickly exits the back room. She pretends to busy herself with her textbooks and goes unnoticed. Travis slowly leaves the room a couple of minutes later. He walks past her lost in thought. Gina and the girls were unaware of any rumors going around about Arnold and Amanda and figures that the rumor mill had luckily not worked its way to the students.

xxxxx 

Travis briskly walks to Amanda’s classroom. He’s hoping she’s there and that they can have a private talk before her students start filing in. Reaching the door, he looks through the small window and sees her sitting at her desk talking on her phone. He wonders who she’s talking to so early in the morning and opens the door without knocking. Seeing him, Amanda says her good-byes to the person on the other end.

“Oh, hey, someone just walked in, I have to go. I’ll talk to you soon. Okay, yeah. Bye.” Looking up she gives Travis a cheery smile. “Well good morning, handsome. What brings you this way so early in the day?”

Travis slowly strides up to her. “Oh, nothing. I didn’t mean to interrupt your phone call. I hope it wasn’t important.”

“Oh, no, just a friend from back home.” She gets up and sits on the corner of her desk, her skirt hiking up a bit which does not go unnoticed by Travis. Clearing his throat he asks her about the day she saw Arnold on his way to work.

“So, uh, last week there was a day when Arnold’s car broke down on his way to work and he said he walked the rest of the way. Do you remember that?”

Amanda finds Travis’s question to be a bit odd and wonders where he’s going with it. “Well, I vaguely remember something like that happening. Why?”

“I was just wondering how much you knew about what happened that morning.”

“Me? How should I know what happened to Arnold that day?”

He finds Amanda’s avoidance to his question suspicious. “Well, because it seems you were seen with Arnold that morning and I’m just curious as to how the two of you just happened to be at that exact spot at the same time.”

A lightbulb goes off in Amanda’s head. “So there were witnesses.” She thinks to herself. She also thinks about how glad she is that she chose that exact spot to wait for Arnold. Plus, if she plays her cards right, she can deepen Travis’s suspicions even further.

“Seen?” She asks, pretending to not know what he means. “Seen where, and by whom?”

“Seen by Sally. She said she was driving into work and passed you and Arnold on the street right out front of the Travel Lodge.”

Making herself, hopefully, sound like she’s lying, she gives him the answer he’s waiting for. “Oh, um, yeah. Now that I think about it, I do remember seeing Arnold that day. His, uh, car broke down and I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. I got out of my car to offer him a ride but he, um, he declined.”

“So his car just happened to break down in front of the Travel Lodge, and you just happened to be driving past at just the right time? A little coincidental, no?”

Now, if Travis had listened to what he had just said, he would have realized that he was accusing Amanda with almost the exact words he was just defending her to Sally with. Unfortunately, though, suspicious minds do not think clearly so he’d missed the irony of what he just said.

Pleased at how things have started to play out, Amanda decides to keep Travis guessing just a little longer and decides to not answer his question. Getting off her desk she stands up and walks past him to the white board on the wall.

“Think what you want, Travis, but I can’t get into this with you right now. Class is due to start at any moment and I have work to do. If you’re so concerned about what went on that morning perhaps you should go talk to Arnold about it. After all, we all know he doesn’t lie, right?”

Before Travis has a chance to respond the first bell rings and soon the room begins to fill with Amanda’s students. He passes Tonya on his way out and she watches him over her shoulder as he stomps down the hallway.

xxxxx  
Phillip lays on his back in the middle of his mommy and daddy’s bed and stares at the pattern the ceiling light makes above his head. He contentedly kicks his legs and flails out his arms as he coos. Every so often he gives his lips a purse and blows little raspberries, causing bubbly drool to slide down his chin and pool in-between the layers of his double chin. He’s just eaten and his belly is nice and full and it makes him happy to hear his mommy’s voice as she softly hums to him while she stands in front of a full-length mirror critiquing the outfit she’s chosen to wear for their little outing to Peterson Farms. 

It’s another cold day and she’s hoping they’re not going to have to deal with snow as they make the hour and a half drive out of town. With Peterson Farms being at a slightly higher elevation then they are, she’s not 100% sure they will be that lucky though. Because of this, she wears a pair of thermals under her jeans and sweater. With a pair of wool socks and her Sorel boots to complete the outfit, she begins to brush her hair. She decides to leave it down for extra warmth and is about to pull on a pink beanie when she hears Arnold bellowing from the bottom of the stairs.

“Come on, Helga, we’ve got to get going if we’re going to make it to the farm by 11!”

“Keep your shorts on!” She yells back as she grabs Phillip from the bed. “We’ve got plenty of time, criminy.”

He’s moved to the kitchen to make sure Phillip’s diaper bag has everything he’ll need for the day. “Yeah, well, if we hit snow, that’s going to slow us down and you know how I hate to be late.”

Helga joins him in the kitchen and starts to strap Phillip into his carrier. “You need to chill, Arnoldo, it’s not like they’re going to kick us out if we’re a few minutes late.”

“Well, you need to sharpen your time management skills and stop making us late all the time.”

She sticks her tongue out at him and pulls the blue beanie he’s wearing over his eyes. Giving a chuckle he pulls it back up and grabs her around her waist, pulling her close to him. 

“Stick your tongue out at me like that again and I’ll make you put it to good use.”

She gives him an innocent look. “What, and make us even later than we’re already going to be?”

He smiles at her and gives her a quick kiss as he grabs Phillip’s carrier and heads towards the door. “You’re right, you’ve already made us late enough.”

With the Subaru finally all packed up they start the hour and a half journey out of town as the first snowflake of the day gently hits their windshield.

xxxxx

It’s a quiet morning at Peterson Farms, but that’s not unexpected for a Tuesday morning. Knowing how their customer traffic has been going since Thanksgiving, Lila doesn’t expect to see much business until later in the afternoon. She lets herself into the small gift shop and looks around making sure everything is in its place. It’s a simple little store with a log cabin feel. On the walls hang various hand-painted signs and pictures of around the farm. The frost covered windows are adorned with checkered Kelly green and beige curtains that have the silhouette of pine trees in the beige squares. Against one wall is a pot-bellied stove that provides the little shop with warmth during the cold winter. On one wall is a coo-coo clock that signals in the passing time. 

As Lila puts the finishing touches on a display of handmade soaps and potpourri she gives a glance at the clock as it tolls in the 11th hour of the morning. Knowing Helga, she’s not surprised at the fact that they are late and figures the unexpected snowfall hasn’t helped matters either. After a few more minutes she finally hears the crunch of tires as they move atop the graveled parking lot. With no other customers in the store to worry about, she runs outside to greet her friends.

As Helga gets out of the car she runs up to Lila, giving her a tight hug. Lila hugs her back, happy to see her friend.

“Oh Helga, I’m ever so happy that you and Arnold could make it up to see us today. I’ve missed you guys oh so much.”

“Yeah, we’ve missed you guys too. Wow, we haven’t been up here since you’ve expanded. You’ve got a really nice place here.”

“Thank you oh so much, Stinky has been working day and night these last few weeks in preparation for the holiday rush.”

Having taken Phillip out of the car, Arnold walks up to the two women. Still holding Phillip’s carrier, he gives Lila a one armed hug as she gushes over their son. 

“Oh Helga, I’m ever so certain that Phillip is just the cutest baby I’ve ever seen. You both must be so happy.”

The two parents look at each other, a mixture of pride and happiness beaming from their faces.

“We couldn’t be happier.” Arnold says, just as Stinky finally walks up to join them.

“Well, willikers, I thought I heard a car pull up. I hope the snowfall didn’t make your drive bite.”

Arnold gives Stinky’s outstretched hand a hearty shake. “No, not at all. As a matter of fact, once we got out of the city it made for a really pretty drive.”

“Why are we standing out here in the cold?” Lila says as she rubs her arms for warmth. “Let’s go inside.”

She leads the group into the warmth of the gift shop. Locking the door and placing an “Out To Lunch, Please Ring Bell For Service” sign in the window, she leads them through a side door that takes them back outside where they come across a path that leads to a small house. 

It’s a quaint country cottage that exudes warmth and hospitality. They’ve painted it a soft yellow with white trim. There is a porch that is enclosed by white picket fencing, two rocking chairs sit side by side with a small table between them. In honor of the season, they have wrapped pine garland around the picket fencing and up the pillars that lead to the rooftop which is lined with colored Christmas lights. Through a picture window you can see a festively decorated tree adorned with handmade ornaments and popcorn garland. 

As they enter the house, the smell of pine and cinnamon fill their senses. A small fire glows warmly in the fireplace, every so often a crackle can be heard coming from the burning logs. 

They are led to the kitchen where a large pine table sits, log benches line either side of its length. It is adorned with a festive table runner that spreads from one end of the long table to the other. A centerpiece of pinecones and evergreen branches sits sentinel over a spread of homemade cheeses and bread freshly baked that morning. There is a tureen filled with soup that has been simmered with winter vegetables straight from the garden. A pitcher of mulled cider sits eagerly waiting to fill Mason jar glasses with its spicy sweetness. 

The two couples partake in happy conversation while every so often turning their attention to Phillip when he calls out, wanting to be noticed. Eventually the topic turns to Rhonda and her upcoming New Year’s Eve party.

“So I hope you two are going to be able to get away for Rhonda’s party.” Helga says through a mouthful of buttered bread.

“We want to, but we’re a bit concerned about making the long drive back to the farm at such a late hour if we do. Plus we’d have to make sure someone could be here early in the morning to tend to the animals.” Stinky says, a bit saddened.

Arnold looks at Helga, both of them thinking the same thing. He turns to Stinky with a big smile on his face. “If you can get someone here in the morning for the animals, Helga and I would love for you to spend the night at the boarding house. We’ve certainly got the room.”

Her face brightening, Lila clasps her hands in front of her chest. “Oh Helga, that is just oh so nice of you to offer, I’m sure Stinky and I would just love to stay the night.”

“That’s right.” Stinky agrees, “It’d be just like old times when we were kids and the guys would all stay at the boarding house for a sleepover.”

“It’s settled then.” Arnold says with a nod of his head, “You work on getting someone to tend the animals and we’ll have your room all ready for you.”

They spend another half hour enjoying a dessert of pumpkin pie and whipped cream when they hear the sound of a buzzer.

“Oh, someone’s at the gift shop. I’d better to let them in.” Lila says as she gets up. “You two feel free to pick out any Christmas tree you want, on us, and let me know before you leave, we have a gift for Phillip.”

Ignoring their pleas to let them pay for their tree, Stinky leads them out to where they have set up a small Christmas tree lot. They don’t have a huge selection of trees, but what they do have are full and lush and just perfect for Phillip’s first Christmas.

While Stinky helps Arnold tie their tree to the roof of the Subaru, Helga stops by the gift shop to say her good-byes to Lila. 

“Here, Helga, this is for Phillip, from Stinky and me. I made it myself.” Lila says as she hands her a small wooden object.

Holding it up Helga sees that it is a round, wooden plaque. Burned in the middle of it are the words “Baby’s First Christmas”. Under that, just as with the other ornaments they have received, are Phillip’s name and the year. A gingham ribbon of the same Kelly green and beige design as the gift shop curtains, has been strung through a hole at the top of the ornament for hanging. 

It takes a great effort for Helga to refrain from giggling. “Oh, Lila, it’s just lovely. Thank you so much. It will be the first thing we hang on our tree.”

“I’m oh so glad you like it.” Lila replies, pride in her handiwork shining from her eyes.

With final good-byes, Lila and Stinky stand arm in arm as they wave their friends off. Once they are back on the road Helga holds up the ornament she received from Lila. Arnold gives it a quick glance.

“Don’t tell me.” He says through a chuckle.

“Mm-hmm.” Helga says with a nod of her head. “This makes three and counting.”

xxxxx

It’s dark by the time they make it home, the steady stream of snowflakes glow in the moonlight as they fall from the sky. There are two packages sitting waiting for them on the porch and Helga has a strange suspicion that she knows what they may be. Picking them up, she holds the door open for Arnold as he struggles to get their tree into the house. It’s past Phillip’s nighttime snack and he fusses, wanting out of the restrictions of his carrier. They choose to set the tree up in the larger living room and Helga sits on the couch feeding Phillip as Arnold struggles to get the tree to hold firmly in its stand. 

Once upright and sturdy, Helga talks Arnold into putting the lights on it and when he’s done they sit on the couch, admiring his handiwork. It’s peaceful in the house as they sit in the dark, the only light coming from the strands that glow on the tree. As always at this time of year, their minds each cast back to when they were young and awkward in their love for each other. Neither has to speak to know what the other is thinking. Helga holds Phillip as she rests her head on her husband’s shoulder. Remembering the packages she picked up off the front porch, she hands them to Arnold to open.

They see that the first one is from Rhonda, and with a knowing smile, he opens the package to find a delicate crystal snowflake with the now familiar words of “Baby’s First Christmas” written across it. 

They laugh as Arnold picks up the second package which they find is from his grandparents. “Two guesses as to what it is.” He jokingly says.

“Gee, I wonder.” Helga replies.

Opening it they find this ornament to be in the shape of a sleeping angel. In this case the word “Baby” is replaced with the word “Great-Grandson”. Getting up, Arnold hangs the two newest ornaments on the tree next to the other three they have received.

Sitting back down, he places an arm across his wife’s shoulders, his free hand gently stroking his sleeping son’s head. They sit in silence as the brightly colored lights twinkle in random patterns, filling the room with a soft glow.


	54. Chapter 54

He lies on his back in the safety of his crib and awakens from a peaceful sleep. Slowly opening his eyes he stares at the glow-in-the-dark stars that look down on him from the ceiling. They are pretty far away, and with his eyesight not being fully developed yet, they look more like glowing orbs than traditional five point stars. It’s quiet in his little room and the silence makes him feel lonely. It’s been a good five hours since he’s last eaten and his stomach gives a small rumble. He starts to pucker his lips, his tongue poking out between them every now and then. He flails an arm and his hand just happens to reach his mouth. Placing a finger between his lips he gives it a suck. He’s expecting the warm sweetness of his mommy’s milk, but gets the taste of his own finger instead. This irritates him and he begins to whimper. When his cries go unheard his irritation turns to anger and he lets out with a demanding yell. Not getting an immediate response he starts kicking his legs and yells a little louder, working himself into a tizzy.

It takes a couple of minutes but eventually a dark figure approaches his crib. His eyes are shut tight from his screaming, but if he were to open them he would have seen the familiar shape of his mommy standing over him as she reaches into the crib to pick him up. He has a momentary sense of weightlessness as he is scooped up into a pair of loving arms. As the shape holds him close he picks up the scent he has been looking for and immediately starts to move his face into it and root around. He hears the voice he knows so well and he begins to calm a bit, lowering the decibel of his cries. With a guiding hand to the back of his head his mouth finds what it has been searching for and he latches on in a hungry death grip. He gives a few good sucks and his efforts are finally rewarded with the sustenance his stomach has been craving. He feels himself being rocked as a soft melody fills his ears. He knows this song and it comforts him as he eats. 

When he’s had his fill he stops his sucking and he looks up into eyes that are darkened from the low light of the room. He stares into them as he coos and is rewarded with the sound of his mother’s voice as she answers him back. Again he feels a brief sense of weightlessness as he is re-positioned so he is laying atop his mommy’s chest. His head rests above her heart and the rhythm of its beating sends him into a hypnotic trance as the rocking slowly continues. His eyelids grow heavy as he fights sleep, but it is still too early in the morning for him to start his day, so he loses the battle and his breathing becomes slow and steady. Closing his eyes he falls into a sleep filled with dreams that will be forgotten the moment he once again awakens. He is placed back down into the safety of his crib where, if his mommy is lucky, he will stay asleep for at least another four hours.

xxxxx

Arnold’s alarm goes off, jolting him awake. He was having one of his childhood dreams of soaring through the air in a small plane, darting in and out of the clouds. Flying off to adventures with parents he hasn’t seen since he was but a mere toddler. These dreams don’t come as often as they did when he was a boy, and he always finds it funny when he has one now as an adult. He guesses that there are some things you just never really get over and pushes it to the back of his mind. 

Rolling over, he faces his wife and he watches her sleep. Her face is partially covered by her tousled hair and he reaches out, brushing it behind her ear. The touch of his fingers causes her to stir and he immediately stops. He fights the urge to press close to her, so he can feel her body soft against his. If he hadn’t heard her get up earlier in the morning to tend to Phillip he probably would have done so, but, knowing how tired she must be, he leaves her to her sleeping and quietly gets out of bed. 

He takes his time in the bathroom, he’s not in any real rush to get on with his day. He used to enjoy his days at the high school, that is, until a certain auburn haired trouble maker showed up. He mentally counts the months until her time at Hillwood High is over and prays she doesn’t accept any offers to stay on permanently. 

By the time he’s dressed and ready for breakfast Helga is already downstairs scrambling a pan of freshly laid eggs straight from Peterson Farms. The smell of crisp bacon fills his nose, luring him downstairs. He walks over to the coffee pot and pours himself a steaming mugful then kisses her on her cheek, eliciting a girlish smile from her. 

“You’re so cute when you smile like that.” He says as he puts his coffee down and wraps his arms around her waist. He gives her a kiss on her neck, sending shivers down her spine. “You know, you could have stayed in bed, you didn’t have to get up just to make me breakfast.

She scrapes the eggs she’s just cooked onto two plates, placing a couple strips of bacon next to them. “I know that, but when I rolled over and noticed you weren’t there I got hungry so I figured I may as well get up.”

“I heard you get up to feed Phillip in the middle of the night. Was everything okay with him?”

“Yeah, he was fine, just wanted to fill his belly I guess.”

“Well that’s good, I’m glad he’s finally over his ear infection. That was not fun.”

“No, the poor little guy. At least when we get sick we can verbalize what’s wrong. He has to just suffer with it until we can figure out what he going through.”

“So you still okay to pick me up from work this afternoon?”

“Yep, it’s on my list of to do’s. Oh, don’t forget to remind Gerald he’s coming over for dinner tonight, and tell him not to worry, I won’t try to cook, it will just be a frozen lasagna.”

“Now Helga, your cooking is getting much better, but don’t worry, I’ll tell him.”

He hears Gerald’s car horn, signaling that Arnold is out of time and has to get going. Giving Helga a quick kiss he runs out the door to start his day.

xxxxx

They arrive at the school with plenty of time before the first bell. Parting ways at the front entrance, Gerald hits the teacher’s lounge as Arnold goes to check his mailbox. He stands alone in the little room and notices a small piece of colored wrapping paper pushed into a dusty corner on the floor. He picks it up thinking that it looks just like some they have at home and throws it into the trashcan. He hears footsteps as he looks through the spam that sits in his box and looks up. Seeing Travis he gives him a smile.

“Hey Travis, good morning.”

A bit of a scowl sits on Travis’s face as he gives Arnold a curt, “Morning.”

Noticing the scowl, Arnold can’t help himself but to try and help his friend with any problems he may be having. “You okay? You look like something’s got you upset.”

Travis gives him a hard stare for a moment before speaking up. “Yes, well, actually, Arnold, there is something that’s been on my mind and I’m thinking you’re just the man to give me some answers.”

Smiling over a chance to be able to help, Arnold is just about to say something when their mutual friend Derek comes walking into the small room. Seeing his friends he gives a cheery good morning. 

“Well look at what we have here, two of Hillwood’s finest. How are you guys on this fine morning?”

Annoyed at the interruption, Travis just gives a grunt while Arnold replies with his patented ‘Life Is Great’ smile. “Can’t complain, Derek. Two days out from Christmas break, life couldn’t be better.”

“I agree. Oh, before I forget, I have something for that baby of yours, it’s from me and the Mrs.”

Derek reaches into his briefcase and pulls out a small, brightly wrapped box. It takes all the willpower Arnold can muster to keep himself from blurting out with laughter. He takes the box from his friend, knowing full well what it contains.

“Aw, thanks Derek. I’m sure Helga will be delighted to see what it is.”

“It’s nothing big, just something the Mrs. Insisted Phillip had to have for his first Christmas.”

“Well give her a big thanks from the both of us.”

“A big thanks to who for what?” A familiar voice speaks up. Turning to face the doorway, the three men are greeted by a smiling Amanda.

Arnold mentally rolls his eyes as Travis stiffens a bit looking back and forth between Arnold and Amanda. Noticing an almost immediate tension in the air, Derek grabs his stuff from his mailbox and makes his escape.

“Well, I must get going, don’t want to be late for class, you know.”

Arnold watches Derek leave and takes his que from him. “Yeah, I should get going too. You both have a good day.” He walks out, leaving Travis to stand alone with Amanda.

“Are you always that good at clearing a room?” Travis says to her.

“On the contrary,” She says, “Usually men flock to me.”

“Well Arnold certainly couldn’t wait to get away from you.”

“Yeah, well, who knows? Perhaps a guilty conscience got the best of him and caused him to flee.”

She grabs her mail before Travis has a chance to ask her what she meant by that and once again, leaves him to stand alone in the small room.

xxxxx

They’ve still got a good fifteen minutes before the first bell so the girls take that time to come together in the library and share any new information they may have. Closing the door to the small study room Tonya turns to face the group.

“Okay, so remember how Denise and I told you that we saw Ms Pearson put something into Mr. Shortman’s gym bag?” There’s a combined nod from the group. “Well the next day I went and visited Helga to tell her what we saw. She wouldn’t let me see what was put in there, she said she didn’t want me to be too involved. But, she did promise to tell me what it was once Ms Pearson is no longer around.”

“That’s a bit disappointing.” Abby says, the rest of the girls agreeing with her.

“Hmmm,” It’s Heather’s turn now to speak. “I wonder if it has anything to do with what happened that Monday after school. I was working the attendance desk when Ms Pearson came storming out of the back room. I went back to check things out and found this in the trash can.”

She pulls out the box with the torn paper, and shows them the torn up note that she had meticulously taped back together.

“Hey!” Gina yells, “That’s the box some lady dropped off the other day for Ms Pearson!”

Tonya’s eyes grow wide. “Lady? What lady, was it Mrs. Shortman?”

“No, it was some lady I’ve never seen before. She looked older than Mrs. Shortman and didn’t say who she was, she said she wanted the gift to be a surprise.”

Tonya looks to Heather now. “Hand me that note, I want to look at it.”

Taking the note from her friend, Heather studies the handwriting as she reads it out loud. “’Dear Amanda, Check.’ Check? What does that mean?”

The girls think about it for a bit when Denise’s face perks up. “I know what that is, it’s a chess term. You use it when you’ve got the other person’s king under the threat of being captured. It’s like whomever wrote the note was telling the other person that it’s now their move and to just try and escape.”

Tonya gives a wide smile, saying almost a little too proudly, “Ha, ha, can you say passive aggressive? That sounds like a Helga move to me.”

“Well that settles who the package was from, but we still don’t know what was in it.” Abby points out.

“I’ll bet you a million dollars it was whatever Ms Pearson put in Mr. Shortman’s gym bag.” Denise says, the other girls agreeing with her.

“I’ve got a bit of news that I overheard the other morning while I was at the attendance desk.” Gina says, gaining the girl’s attention. “It was before school and Ms Abernathy and Mr. Cooper were in the back room talking. It sounded like Ms Abernathy was trying to spread some rumor about Mr. Shortman and Ms Pearson. She said something about them coming out of the Travel Lodge, you know, the one out towards downtown.” 

“What!” Tonya yells, “That’s a total lie, there’s no way Mr Shortman would ever do anything like that, not with the way he’s so into his wife.”

“How do you know how into his wife he is?” Heather questions.

“Because, when I was over there that morning I saw the look in his eyes when he looked at her. You can’t fake that. That was totally the look of a man head over heels in love. Nope, I don’t believe that rumor at all. So Ms Abernathy was just trying to spread gossip. But, I wonder if Mr. Cooper believed her, because I saw him leaving Ms Pearson’s classroom one morning and he was looking pretty mad. Oh, man, this whole situation is becoming ridiculous. Something drastic is going to need to be done soon before people’s reputations and friendships become ruined.”

Denise gives her friend a suspicious look. “Just what are you thinking, Tonya?”

A sinister smile comes across Tonya’s face as she speaks to her friends. “You guys don’t need to worry about it right now. I have a plan and once I get things rolling, you all will be the first to know about it.”


	55. Chapter 55

The day seemed to drag on and on as Travis counted the minutes to the last bell. He’s still a little upset over being interrupted in the mail room that morning and is eager to pick up his and Arnold’s conversation where it left off. When the bell finally rings, he waits for the last student to leave before turning out the lights and heading over to Arnold’s office. He makes it there just as Arnold is packing up some files to take home and work on. Looking up from his desk, Arnold wonders what Travis could possibly want now.

“Hey, Arnold, you got a minute?” Travis says as he enters the room.

“Is this going to take long? My car is still in the shop and I don’t want Helga to have to wait too long for me.”

“No, it shouldn’t take too long. I just have a couple of questions for you is all.”

“Okay, well, have a seat and let’s talk.” Arnold says as he motions for Travis to sit down in the empty chair that sits across his desk. “So, what’s on your mind?”

“Yeah, I, uh wanted to talk to you about that day you said your car broke down while you were on your way into work.”

“Okaaay, what about it?”

“Well, I was just thinking that where it broke down, that’s kind of an out of the way spot considering the direction the boarding house is from the school. Seemed strange that you’d be all the way out there if you were coming from home.”

Arnold is beginning to wonder just what Travis’s line of questioning is leading up to. “Not that it’s anybody’s business, but I agree, it was an out of the way route for me to take, but I had no choice, the roads by my house were all torn up and that’s the detour route I was forced to follow. Why are you so concerned about that?”

“Wellll, it’s come to my attention that you were seen…………….”

Before he can bring up the topic of Arnold and Amanda being seen at the Travel Lodge, there is a knock on Arnold’s door, followed by it being opened, the head of a student peeking around it.

“Um, Mr. Shortman, are you busy?” Comes the voice of April Davidson, a senior on the verge of failing the 12th grade if she doesn’t get her act together.

“April, come in.” Arnold says as he gets up to greet the student. Looking at Travis he’s not too subtle in his efforts to get the man to leave. “I’m not sure what you were trying to get at, Travis, but we’ll have to finish this conversation at another time.”

Frustrated by his unsuccessful attempt to talk to Arnold he heads for the door. “Oh, don’t worry, we will definitely finish this conversation.”

As the door shuts behind Travis Arnold opens it a bit so that he and the girl are not left behind closed doors, he motions for April to have a seat. Sitting in his own chair, he gives her his full attention. “Now then, April, what can I do for you?”

xxxxx

It’s cold outside and Helga doesn’t feel like waiting for Arnold in the car so, working quickly, she straps on a front snuggly carrier and slips Phillip into it. Throwing a blanket over him for good measure, she heads into the school, texting Arnold to meet her in the teacher’s lounge. She meets Tonya and a couple of her friends as she walks through the parking lot. They beg her for a look at her son and ooh and aah over his sleeping face. 

Tonya smiles at her comrade in arms. “So, I take it all went well?”

Knowing exactly what the girl is talking about, Helga gives a nod of her head. “Yep, everything’s just fine and dandy as far as I’m concerned.”

“Good.” Is all Tonya says as she turns her attention back to Phillip. 

Their little meet up is cut short when a car full of campus jocks comes racing by, horn blaring. It’s driven by Blake who leads the group in a chorus of catcalls. Most are directed at Tonya and her friends but a lone “Looking good Mrs. Shortman!” can be heard among the shouting, followed by a rash of laughter. As they continue to drive by Blake raises his hands palms up in a “wasn’t me!” manner before heading out of the parking lot. 

Helga says her good-byes to the group of giggling girls and makes her way to the teacher’s lounge. It’s empty and she takes a seat on a small couch that sits in the middle of the room. She busies herself with her phone, only looking up when she hears the opening of the door. “Criminy”, she thinks to herself as Amanda comes walking into the room. 

There’s a falter in Amanda’s step as she spots Helga sitting on the couch, but she quickly composes herself as she silently walks past her. Neither women speak as Amanda fills her travel mug with hot water. Grabbing a tea bag, she dunks it in the water and loosely puts the mug’s lid back in place. They feel each other out, both waiting to see which one will be the first to speak. 

Finally, Helga starts to talk to no one in particular as she scrolls through her Facebook posts. 

“I’ve known Arnold for a good majority of my life. As a matter of fact, I can’t even remember a time in my life when I didn’t know him. That’s how far back we go. I knew from a very early age that he was the only man that would ever be in my life. My husband is a good man. Always was and always will be. He’s kind, and considerate, a genuine gentle soul. The list goes on, but out of all his attributes, I’d have to say the one I value the most is his loyalty. He’s as loyal as the day is long, and there is not one person in this whole world that will ever make me question him. Now, that being said, I, on the other hand, am not so gentle a soul and I pity anyone who tries to test me. Arnold has done a good job over the years to calm my volcanic temper, but that doesn’t mean I’m not long overdue for an eruption. If I do finally reach the boiling point, you can mark my words that there will be no survivors.”

Amanda’s head snaps in Helga’s direction, causing her to almost drop the mug of hot water she holds. Aghast at Helga’s last sentence she finally breaks her silence. “Are you – threatening me?”

Still not looking at her, Helga lets out a little giggle. “Now why on earth would you think my words are directed towards you? Unless – there was something you might be guilty of perhaps?”

“What? What could I possibly have to feel guilty over?”

“Well now, see, you have nothing to worry your pretty little head over, do you?”

To Amanda, Helga’s giggles seem to take on an eerily insane quality to them and it makes her very nervous. Giving the woman a wide berth, she takes her tea and heads for the door. Without looking she swings the door open, practically bumping into Arnold. As she passes she looks him in the eye as she speaks. “That woman is certifiably insane.” Helga’s laugh follows her as she walks down the otherwise quiet hallway. 

As Helga gets up and walks towards her husband he gives her an exasperated look. “Helga – what was that all about?”

Kissing his cheek she says, “Absolutely nothing, I was just having a little fun. Now, let’s go home, I have a lasagna to put in the oven.”

As they drive home Arnold looks over to Helga and gives her a big smile. “Ten guesses as to what Derek gave me this morning.”

“What? Is Derek courting you with gifts now? Is there something between the two of you you’re not telling me?”

“Of course not.” Arnold says through a chuckle. “You know you’re the only man……….uh, person for me.”

“So I’m manly now. Huh, I’d like to see any man push a baby out of his body like I did Phillip, especially with the size of Phillip’s head! No man could take that kind of pain.”

“You don’t think a man could take the pain of childbirth?”

“Absolutely not. First contraction and they’d be screaming for drugs.”

“You can believe that if you want, but I bet I could handle it. What’s a little muscle cramp or two?”

“Oh brother! Well you know, they do have those contraptions that simulate what it’s like to give birth. We could find a doctor’s office that has one and hook you up to it and………….”

“No, no, that’s perfectly okay. I’m not that eager to prove my point. You’ll just have to take my word for it.”

“Sure, Arnoldo, whatever you say.”

xxxxx

Once home Arnold takes a sleeping Phillip up to the nursery while Helga throws a frozen lasagna in the oven. When Arnold comes back downstairs he has the package from Derek in his hands. Helga looks at it and begins to laugh.

“Oh, no, don’t tell me.”

“Yep.” Arnold says. “Derek said his wife just had to get it for Phillip, to commemorate his first Christmas. Would you like to do the honors, or shall I?

“Why don’t you open it while I make a salad.”

Opening the box, their suspicions are right as Arnold pulls out a small wooden ornament. They can tell that it’s one of Lila’s handmade ornaments, this one in the shape of a Christmas tree. The same ribbon is strung through a small hole at the top of the tree that matches the one on the ornament Lila and Stinky gave them.

With dinner cooking Helga joins Arnold in the living room as he hangs the wooden tree next to the other five ornaments. As they sit on the couch admiring their collection, Arnold begins to nuzzle Helga’s neck. His hand starts to wander her body as it finds its way under her shirt. She giggles as she tries to stop his advances.

“Arnold, we don’t have time for this. Gerald will be here soon.”

Not to be thwarted, he covers her mouth with his as he uses his body to push her down to a laying position. His hands expertly work the button on her jeans and once the zipper is down he reaches in, massaging her gently.

“Ahh,” she says between pants, “you’re not playing fair!” 

He smiles as he slips her top off before removing her bra. “So, sue me.” He says as he opens the fly on his own pants. 

Once they are both freed of their restrictive clothing, he spreads her legs and is about to enter her when there is a knock at the door.

“See!” Helga says as she squirms out from under him. “I told you he’d be here any minute!”

Frustrated, Arnold buries his face in the couch cushion and gives a little yell. “Nooooo!”

“That’s what you get, for not listening.” She says as she finishes getting dressed. “Now put your pants back on while I get the door.”

“Okay, but we’re finishing this later!”

Answering the door, Gerald notices Helga’s disheveled condition. That plus the fact that Arnold is zipping up his pants as he walks towards the door causes Gerald to give a little blush.

“Uhhh, I’m not disturbing anything, am I?” He asks.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Helga says, waving him off. “Come on in, dinner will be ready in a little while. Can I get you a beer or anything?”

Both Gerald and Arnold agree that a beer sounds really good about now so Helga leaves the two alone as she heads to the kitchen. Gerald gives Arnold a questioning look as the two men sit down.

“You’re sure I didn’t interrupt something?”

Arnold’s cheeks flush a bit, answering Gerald’s question. “Eh, it’s okay, you didn’t interrupt anything that can’t be continued later.”

Seeing Helga reenter the room, the two men quickly change the subject. “Before I forget, I brought something for the Little Phil, from his Uncle Gerald.”

Helga and Arnold exchange a look while doing their best to stifle a laugh. Gerald rummages through the backpack he’s brought with him and pulls out a small box, handing it to Helga.

“Aw, Gerald, that’s so sweet of you. I wonder what it could be.” She opens the lid and finds this ornament to be in the shape of a baseball cap, similar to the one Arnold used to wear as a kid. It’s even painted in the same light blue color. This time the word “Baby” is replaced with the words “Little Dude”. 

“Hey, I love it.” Arnold says as he takes the ornament from his wife. “It’s just like my old hat.”

“Well, doi, I’m sure that’s why he got it.” Helga teases.

At that moment the oven timer goes off just as Phillip can be heard crying over the baby monitor. Helga leaves the two men to handle dinner while she runs upstairs to get her son. Bringing him downstairs she sits at the kitchen table and discreetly nurses Phillip as the three of them partake in a dinner of lasagna, salad and bread from Peterson Farms.

They sit and eat in silence for a couple of minutes when the subject of Phoebe comes up. 

“So,” Helga starts, “I heard from Phoebe recently.” She watches Gerald’s face, trying to read his expression.

“Oh yeah?” Gerald says. “What’d she have to say?”

“Oh, not much. Only that she’s excited to be coming into town and she asked me if I wouldn’t mind picking her up from the airport.”

Gerald is a little saddened that Helga was the one Phoebe asked to come get her when her plane landed but he guesses he can’t blame her. Trying his best to hide the hurt he gives a little smile.

“I talked to her a few days ago too. She says she’ll be staying at her parents. Man it’s going to feel like we’re back in high school again, me having to pick her up at her parent’s house in order to take her out on a date.”

“Well, maybe that’s a good thing.” Arnold says. “It will bring up old memories for her, making her remember the old feelings and what made her fall in love with you.”

“Arnold, that’s the romantic in you talking. It will probably have the opposite effect and make her wonder what she ever saw in me to begin with.”

“Geeze, Geraldo, that’s too pessimistic even for me!” Helga blurts out. Softening up a bit, she reaches out and places her hand on his. “Don’t over think it. It’s going to be fine. Trust me.”

Gerald’s eyes grow hopeful at Helga’s words. “Why, did she say something to you? What do you know that I don’t?”

“No, she didn’t say anything specific to me, but I know her, and I know her tone of voice. I’m almost sure she’s leaning towards forgiveness and I bet you that by the end of her trip the two of you will be back together again.”

Gerald shakes his head as he plays with the food on his plate. “I sure hope you’re right, Helga.”

xxxxx

Once dinner is done, and Gerald has said his good-byes Arnold helps Helga in the kitchen. He wraps up the leftover food as she puts the dishes into the dishwasher. He questions Helga over what she had said to Gerald over dinner.

“So just how are you so sure that Phoebe is going to forgive Gerald while she’s here? What do you really know?”

“Like I said, I know Phoebe, and I can tell that she’s softening in regards to Gerald. It’s not so much what she says, but how she says it.”

“Well, I hope you’re right, cause I’d hate for your words to build up his hope unnecessarily.”

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m talking about.”

He places his arms around her waist and gives her a kiss. “Okay, I’ll trust you on this one. Now come on, we’ve got some unfinished business to take care of.” He says as he takes her hand and leads her upstairs.


	56. Chapter 56

She fiddles with the collar of his shirt as he squirms, causing her to drop her hands in exasperation.

“Will you stop moving! Criminy, you’re worse than a child.”

He fusses with his collar, moving his fingers around it to try and loosen it a bit. “Tell me, why are we doing this again? We’ve never worried about taking Christmas pictures before.”

“That’s because we were never a family of three before, doi.”

“Still, I don’t see why we’re going through all this trouble.”

“We’re doing this because its Phillip’s first Christmas and we’re starting a new tradition. Besides, it’ll make for cute Christmas cards, WHICH, by the way, we need to get out soon before the holiday passes. So the pictures have to be done today so Sid can email the copies to me so I can order and mail the cards. So quit complaining and let me fix your collar.”

He reluctantly stands still, the pouty expression on his face making him look all of ten years old. “Okay, I’ll go along with the pictures, but do we have to wear the Santa hats?”

“Yes, of course we do. That’s what’s going to add the cuteness to the pictures.”

“Oh brother.” He whispers under his breath as he gives his eyes a roll.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing, dear.”

“That’s what I thought. There, you’re collar’s nice and straight. Now, let’s get Phillip, I told Sid we’d meet him at the lake at 10.”

He walks up to Phillip’s crib and looks down, giving his head a shake over the outfit Helga has put the poor child in. It’s a bright green onesie, with the feet extending out a bit to look like elf shoes. There is a black belt attached at the waist and a rounded collar in a red that out brightens the green. He wears a green bib with the words “Santa’s Little Helper” written across it in red letters. Lying next to him is a hat similar to their Santa hats only this one is green and at the top there is a bell in lieu of a white pom-pom. 

“Oh, Phillip, I’m so sorry for this.” He says as he picks the child up and places him in his carrier. 

Once they are packed up and in the car, Helga turns up the heater for the hour drive to the lake where they’ve arranged to meet Sid. 

As Arnold slows down for a traffic light he looks at Helga. “You know, we should have arranged to do this on the day we went to Peterson Farms since it’s on the way.”

“I tried, but Sid couldn’t get away. This is one of his busy seasons what with everyone wanting holiday portraits. Heck, it was nice of him to clear this morning for us as it is. Plus, he’s giving us a huge discount.”

The light finally turns green, causing Arnold to look back at the road. “Really? Well that’s nice of him.” 

“Yeah. He says it’s payback for those couple of months we let him stay at the boarding house for free back when he was between apartments.”

“You mean back when his girlfriend at the time kicked him out?”

Helga gives a little chuckle. “Yeah, what was her name again?”

“To be honest, I can’t even remember. He goes through girls so quickly.”

“That’s because he blindly rushes into relationships.” Helga says with conviction. “He should learn to take it slow, and get to know the person better.”

“So, what? You’re a relationship counselor now?”

“I think I know a thing or two about relationships.”

“Helga, you tortured me for the first, what, ten years or so that you knew me? Then after that you practically ignored me until I finally got the nerve up to ask you out and then you wouldn’t even let me do so much as hold your hand in public until I finally broke you of your shyness. So, no, I hardly think relationship counseling is your calling.”

Holding her nose up in the air as a sign of arrogance, Helga huffs back, “Heh. That was when I was no more than a mere child, unskilled in the ways of love. I’m much more experienced now and have learned a thing or two over the years.”

Knowing better than to argue, Arnold just shakes his head and gives her his usual, “Whatever you say, Helga.”

xxxxx

They finally reach the lake and are surprised to find that they are even a few minutes early. It’s cold outside and there is a fresh layer of snow from the previous night so they opt to wait for Sid in the Subaru. After a few minutes they see Sid’s gunmetal gray SUV pull up next to them. Waving, they gather their stuff and meet him outside.

The last time they saw Sid was at the hospital when Phillip was born. He was there with camera in hand, ready to capture Phillip’s first few hours of life. He had discovered his passion for photography back in their PS 118 days when he took on the job as photographer for the school’s newspaper. He was especially adept at taking candid shots of his subjects, with them never even knowing they were being photographed. As he grew, he honed this skill, which made him extremely sought after for weddings and parties. With his ability to blend in with a crowd, and his photographer’s eye, he never failed in taking shots that perfectly captured the moment. At first he worked out of his home, making appointments to meet people at pre-arranged locations. Eventually, though, word of his skill spread, and he was sought after more and more to do studio work as well, causing him to set up “Sid’s Shots” in the heart of downtown Hillwood.

The friends greet each other now as they step out of their cars. Not wanting Phillip to be exposed to the cold weather any longer than necessary he has been left in his car seat where it’s warm and snug. Looking through the window, Sid gives a smile.

“Oh wow, he’s gotten big since I last saw him. Life must be agreeing with him.”

Helga can’t help but smile at her little man. “Life would agree with you too if all you did was sleep all day and get fed on demand whenever you felt even the least bit hungry.”

“Heh, that’d be the life, that’s for sure.” 

Looking past the cars, Sid scans the area for the perfect spot to take their pictures. Large white clouds dot a brilliant blue sky and it’s still early enough in the morning so the sun won’t be a problem with reflecting off the snow. Lying on the ground is a fallen log that would make a nice seat for the little family, with the crystal blue lake sparkling behind it. Pine trees surround the lake, tall and majestic as they reach towards the sky, snow still sitting on their branches. The trees and the sky are mirrored in the quiet lake, making for the perfect backdrop. 

Sid instructs his friends to go and sit on the fallen log, telling them he will join them once he’s gathered his equipment. Arnold takes Phillip from his car seat, making sure to keep him wrapped tight in his blanket, his elf hat secured onto his head. The couple sit in quiet conversation, unaware that the photo shoot has already begun. Without being noticed, Sid starts taking some candid shots, capturing their faces as they look from each other to their child. Their smiles as serene as the lake behind them. 

Once he is satisfied with the shots he’s taken, he joins his friends, telling them he’s finally ready to start. They take off their heavy coats to reveal outfits of denim jeans with Arnold wearing a light blue buttoned down shirt, and Helga in a light pink wool sweater. Reluctantly, Arnold pulls on the Santa hat Helga insists they both wear, and she removes Phillip’s bib revealing the elf outfit that hides under it. 

Working quickly for Phillip’s sake, Sid deftly snaps picture after picture as he instructs the couple on how to sit, or which way to tilt their heads. At one point he has them look into each other’s eyes while Phillip lays embraced in both their arms. Getting lost in the moment, Arnold can’t help himself and he leans in to give Helga a gentle kiss on her lips. It’s a soft, tender kiss and when it’s finished, they briefly gaze at each other, forgetting that Sid is even there. It’s the shot he’s been looking for, one that can’t be instructed, but instead naturally comes together through love. As luck would have it, Phillip even chose that precise moment to look up at his parents, making it the perfect family portrait. 

Happy with the morning’s work, Sid tells them they can bundle back up, which they gratefully do. They invite Sid to join them back in town for lunch but he regretfully declines. He has a 1:00 appointment in his studio that he hasn’t yet prepared for. So saying their good-byes, they each look forward to meeting up again at Rhonda’s New Year’s Eve party. 

“Once I get these pictures fixed up I’ll email you a link to an online album and you can then be free to do as you wish with them. Shouldn’t take me more than a day or two.”

“Thanks, Sid.” Helga says, her smile overflowing with gratitude. “We can’t tell you how much we appreciate this.”

“No problem. Oh, wait, before I forget, I made Phillip up a little something.” As he runs to his car, Helga and Arnold share a look. Walking back, Sid holds up a small, metal ornament. On one side a picture of Phillip has been printed on the smooth metal. On the back are the words they are now all too familiar with. Helga takes the ornament and holds it up for Arnold to see.

“Aw, Sid, this is adorable. Thank you so much.” She says, giving him a small kiss on his cheek.

Sid replies with a blush, “It was nothing, just a little something for the big guy’s first Christmas. Well, I’ll be seeing ya at the party.”

Entering their car, Arnold turns the heater all the way up and they take their time making the short trek back to town. 

xxxxx

It’s almost lunch break as Abby man’s her post in the attendance office. Today she has the boring job of plugging all the non-excused absences of the day into a computer program which will then automatically call the student’s home, informing their parents of their non-attendance for the day. She’s bored out of her mind, and daydreams as she punches the computer keys, not noticing when Principal Dunn comes walking up to her. He gives his throat a clearing to get her attention.

Looking up from the keyboard, she gets a bit flustered when she sees who it is. “Oh, Principal Dunn, wh-what can I do for you?”

He hands her some folded pieces of paper. “I’d would like you to please make sure these notes get into the proper teacher boxes for me.”

She eyes the names on the notes as she takes them from him. “Oh, certainly, I’ll do it right now.”

“Very good. Thank you.” He says as he turns to enter his office, closing his door behind him.

Walking into the back room she looks at the names once more. There are four identical notes, one each addressed to Travis, Amanda, Arnold and Gerald. They are not sealed so she takes a quick peek inside. Written inside each one are the words: “Please meet me in my office Friday afternoon at 3:15. Thank you, Principle Dunn.” 

Overflowing with curiosity, she wonders what that could possibly be about. She reminds herself to tell Heather that she’s going to want to hang back a bit after school tomorrow to see if she can find out what’s up.

xxxxx

The last bell of the day has rung and Travis makes his way to check his mailbox before leaving the school. He sees the notes that sit in his and his fellow teacher’s boxes and he picks his up to read it. As he does this Amanda comes walking up behind him. 

“You’re not getting love notes from someone else are you?” She says as she slips her arms around his waist so she can look over his shoulder at the note.

“Not unless Dunn suddenly has a thing for me.” He holds up the note for her to read. “It looks like you’ve got one too.”

Looking in her box, she picks up the note and compares it to Travis’s. They look at each other with curiosity. Noticing that Gerald and Arnold have similar notes, she takes a peek at theirs to see what they say.

“Hmm, Dunn wants to see them, too. Do you have any idea what he could want?”

Travis shakes his head as he gives his shoulders a shrug. “I have absolutely no clue.”

He looks at her, debating whether or not to bring up their fight of the other day. “Hey, Amanda, about the other day when I accused you and Arnold of……”

Her eyes narrow. “What about it? You ever talk to Arnold to get his side of the story?”

“No, I never got the chance.”

“So you did think about going to him. You really didn’t believe me, did you?”

“I want to, Amanda, if you would just give me a straight answer. Is there something going on between you and Arnold?”

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Gerald. I can’t help it if Arnold has a wandering eye. If he isn’t getting what he needs at home it’s not my fault if he goes looking for it elsewhere. Besides, regardless of his home life, it should have nothing to do with you and me.”

“Well, it does if he’s coming on to you knowing full well that you’re with me. I mean, we are still together, aren’t we?”

“I don’t know, Travis. Do you trust me? I can’t be with a man that doesn’t have trust in me.”

He’s confused and doesn’t really know what to think. One thing he is sure of, though, is his feelings for Amanda, and if Arnold even thinks about coming between them then there’s going to be hell to pay. 

Taking her by her upper arms, he looks her in the eye. “All I know is that I love you, and I’m not going to let anyone come between us. So if Arnold even thinks about laying a finger on you, he’s going to have to deal with me.”

Looking around to make sure they are alone, he pulls her towards him, locking her into a tight embrace. She hugs him back, a small smirk forming on her lips. They leave the building, each heading for their own car. As they leave the parking lot she follows him to his apartment where she stays until morning.


	57. Chapter 57

There is an air of excitement in the halls of Hillwood High this morning as students and teachers alike prepare for their long awaited winter break. The teacher’s lounge is laden with plates of Christmas cookies and fudge which everyone readily partakes in. In the hallways students laugh and greet each other with smiles and holiday hugs. Here and there gifts are exchanged, the brightly colored wrappings being ripped apart eagerly as friends are anxious to see what’s inside. The twelfth grade class clown walks around wearing a hat adorned with mistletoe, and greets his fellow students, hopeful in perhaps getting a kiss or two. On a normal day his efforts would go unrequited, but with holiday magic in the air, he is actually successful and rewarded with a few chaste kisses. 

Tonya walks down a row of second floor lockers, her eyes scanning for her friend, Charles. The two have known each other since the third grade and have become pretty good friends over the years. He is a little taller than average, which makes it easy for her to spot his red hair. Finally seeing him, she calls out over the din of the crowd.

“Hey, Charles!”

Hearing his name, he looks around. When he spies Tonya, he smiles and waves. “Oh, hey, Tonya. How are you this morning? Ready for the long break?”

“You bet I am, I’ve been ready since Thanksgiving!”

“Ha, ha, yeah, me too! So, what’s up?”

Standing with her back leaned up against the lockers, she holds the books she’s carrying against her chest as she looks up at him. For as long as she’s known him, he’s always had a knack with any type of electronics. He is the first to get any new gadget as soon as it hits the market. His specialty, though, is computers. He found coding to be intriguing, and is constantly making up fun little games to share with his friends. Another thing he is pretty adept at is bypassing lower end security systems. He’s never referred to what he is capable of doing as hacking, but if you were to get right down to it, that’s exactly what it is. It’s this skill that Tonya is particularly interested in right now and she’s hoping to be able to access his talents. 

She kicks at the floor with the toe of her shoe as she speaks. “I have a little situation I’ve been dealing with and I need someone who’s really good with computers. I was wondering if you might be willing to hear the details of my story and perhaps lend me your talents.”

“Sure, I’d love to help you with whatever it is. What is it you need done?”

She looks at the crowded hallway and is uncomfortable giving out too many details among so many listening ears. “I can’t really talk about it here. I was wondering if maybe we could get together over the break and we can discuss it over, say, lunch or something. My treat.” 

He thinks about it then nods his head. “Okay, sure. I’m always up for free food. Just let me know when and where and if I can, I’d be glad to help you.”

Her face lights up with a smile. “Cool, I’ll be in touch within the next day or two. Thanks again Charles.”

She turns and walks off with a skip in her step, anxious to get the ball rolling on her little plan of, what she likes to refer to as, taking out the trash. 

She meets up with Denise on her way to class. Always observant, her friend notices the smile on her face.

Without looking at her directly, Denise talks as they enter Amanda’s class. “So, I take it that things went well between you and Charles?”

“Yep, we made plans to meet up for lunch over the break.”

“You sure he’s going to be willing to go along with your little plan? If he gets caught he could end up expelled, or even worse.”

Tonya looks over to Denise as they take their seats. “He won’t get caught, he’s too good at what he does.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

Tonya smiles as she looks up at Amanda who is standing at the whiteboard with her back to the class. “Oh yes, I’m definitely sure.”

xxxxx

The day passes by rather slowly for Arnold as he sits at his desk watching the minute hand as it slowly makes its way around the clock that hangs on the wall. With the student’s minds busy with making plans for their holiday break, there hasn’t been much traffic flowing through his office. He gives a small jump when his phone dings, alerting him of an incoming text from Gerald.

G: “So, what do you think old Dunn wants with us now?”

Not having stopped by his mailbox yet, Arnold has no idea as to what Gerald is referring to.

A: “Huh? What does he want about what?”

G: “The note that he put in our boxes. You got one too. Didn’t you read it?”

A: “No, I haven’t checked my box yet.”

G: “He wants to see us after school, 3:15.”

A: “Damn, ok, thanks for the heads up.”

G: “No problemo, Bro.”

Wondering just what in the world Dunn could want now, he gets up to retrieve the note from his box. He’s going to have to be sure to let Helga know that he’s going to be late so she doesn’t sit in the parking lot wondering where he is. He sees Heather as she sits at her post behind the attendance counter. As he looks at the bored expression on her face he thinks to himself that it must be a slow day for the attendance office too. He gives her a smile as he passes by.

“Hi, Heather. You looking forward to your break?”

Heather sits up straighter, a big smile on her face as she answers him. “Oh yeah, I sure am!”

“You and your family have any plans?”

“Yeah, we’re traveling to California to see my uncle and grandparents for a few days.”

“Well that sounds like fun. I hope you have a good time.”

Walking into the back room he sees the folded paper sitting in his otherwise empty box. Looking at it he wonders what on earth the man could want with him and Gerald. He walks back to his office to straighten it up then gathers his stuff and walks to the teacher’s lounge to wait for the last bell of the day to ring.

He makes a cup of coffee and shoots Helga a quick text before switching over to his Facebook page where he mindlessly scrolls through a day’s worth of people’s posts. He chuckles as he clicks into a video that someone had posted of last Friday’s basketball game. It’s a quick clip of one of the teacher’s doing a silly victory dance while pointing at the losing team and nodding his head up and down taunting them. 

When the last bell finally rings, he makes his way to Gerald’s room and the two walk to Dunn’s office together. They are watched by Heather as they step into the office. Once inside they see that Travis and Amanda are already there. Heather takes up a spot by the opened door, rummaging through her backpack as if she’s looking for something, while all the time she listens very carefully to what’s being discussed.

The room is thick with tension as Gerald glares at Amanda while she smiles sweetly at Arnold who looks questioningly to Travis, whose eyes are shooting daggers back at him. While through it all Principal Dunn sits at his desk, completely oblivious to what’s going on around him. Clearing his throat in his usual manner, the principal finally speaks up.

“So I guess you are all wondering why I’ve called you here.”

Tearing their eyes from each other, the small group turns their attention to Dunn. They mumble in agreement that they are curious as to what this is all about.

“Well as you know,” Dunn continues, “this year’s Winter Ball is scheduled to take place here in the gym in early February. It seems that we are short on chaperones and while going over the rosters for the last few years, I’ve noticed that none of you have yet to chaperone one of our dances. Now it’s understandable for you, Ms Pearson, what with this being your first year here, but as for the rest of you, it’s now time for you to step up to the plate and take your turns as chaperones.”

There is a murmur of grumbles from the three men as they roll their eyes, while Amanda is thrilled at the idea of attending a dance. All Arnold can think about is how there is no way he’s going to be in attendance at a dance with Amanda, without Helga being there. So, sending Helga a mental, “I’m sorry to have to do this to you.” He speaks up.

“I can see where it’s only fair that we take our turn just like everyone else, but I don’t feel right being at a dance without my wife. So unless she can be a chaperone too I don’t know if I can do it.”

Dunn remembers Helga’s days at good old Hillwood High, and he has no great desire to relive them. But, with being shorthanded as it is, he relents to Arnold’s request.

“I understand where you’re coming from and if she promises to behave herself, then she’s more than welcomed to chaperone along with you.” He points a finger at Arnold as he sets down some rules. “Now, that means, her clothes must follow the school’s dress code for dances, and none of that bumping and grinding type of dancing she’s so inclined to do.”

Both Arnold and Gerald think back to the specific dance they are sure Dunn is referring to and look at each other with mischievous smiles. It was the homecoming dance of their senior year. Helga was feeling particularly rebellious and decided to see just how far she could push the limits. So, school dress code thrown to the wind, she chose to wear as inappropriate a dress as she could find. It was a skin tight, light pink dress with thin spaghetti straps. The back was cut all the way down to the curve of her back and it was just long enough to cover her goodies from roaming eyes. She wore pink stilettos, which accentuated her long legs, causing the dress to appear even shorter than it was. She got away with the dress by wearing a matching long sleeved jacket that fell down to her knees, hiding the dress beneath it. 

She wore the jacket for the first half of the dance. It wasn’t until the DJ decided to play a spicy little number with a definite Latin beat, that things took a definite spiral downward. Throwing off the jacket, Arnold’s eyes grew wide when he took in the dress she wore underneath it. He could barely contain the growing excitement that was fighting to take over his body. Staring him down, she slowly danced up to him, her body moving with the sensuous rhythm of the music. Holding him close, she pressed her body to his, hips grinding, head thrown back as the hand that he held at her back moved up and down her bare skin. He put her into a deep dip, and as he slowly pulled her up she hooked her leg onto his hip as she leaned into his body, foreheads together, lips barely touching. 

It’s right as the second round of grinding started when Dunn went running over, yelling her name. “PATAKI!” He shouted as the crowd of students moved in to surround the dancing couple, forcing the principal to fight his way to the middle of the circle. Throwing an arm between the two dancers, Dunn forced them apart amidst a chorus of boos from the other students. Taking the two by their upper arms, he demanded that Helga put her jacket back on before he escorted them to the door. All the while he kept droning on about how he had half a mind to call their parents, along with more than one threat of suspension. 

Arnold catches Dunn’s eye now, promising him that Helga’s no longer like that and how he’ll make sure she takes the job as chaperone seriously and that there’ll be no monkey business on her part. Satisfied, Dunn releases the four co-workers and they leave his office two by two.

Gerald and Arnold can’t help but laugh at the old memories as they walk out to the parking lot. Arnold spots Helga sitting waiting for him and says his good-byes to Gerald. He’s still smiling as he gets into the Subaru.

“Why is it you’re always smiling when I come to pick you up from work?” Helga asks as she backs out of her parking spot. “Is the job of high school guidance counselor that amusing?”

“No, Gerald and I were just reminiscing over a particular homecoming dance.” He watches her face hoping she remembers.

The smile on her face widens as she casts her mind back. “You talking about the night of the pink dress?”

“Yep.” He says, giving her a wink.

“What got you two talking about that?”

The amusement in Arnold’s eyes dims as he braces himself for Helga’s reaction to what he’s about to tell her. “Well, it seems Gerald and I have been coerced into chaperoning this year’s Winter Ball, annnnd, I kind of said I would only do it if you were a chaperone too.”

“What?” Oh no, no way I’m going to chaperone a bunch of hormone riddled teenagers at no dance. You remember what those things were like! Uh-uh, no way.”

“Come on, Helga, you’ve got to do it. Please, for me? Amanda will be there, you know, and if you’re not there just think about how she’ll probably be all over me, trying to cause trouble.”

Helga thinks about being at a school dance with Amanda and thinks she could probably have some fun messing with her, but she really doesn’t want to go.

“What about Phillip? Who’ll watch him while we’re babysitting a bunch of teenagers?”

“That excuse isn’t going to fly, you know your parents would be more than willing to watch him. If not them, then Olga definitely would.”

She looks at him out of the corner of her eye. “If I do this, can I wear what I want?”

“As long as it follows the school’s dress code. I promised Dunn you’d behave.” He nudges her lightly in the arm. “Come on, Helga. Don’t make me do this alone. Gerald will be there, it’d be kind of fun watching him try to be cool in front of all those kids.”

“That would be kind of funny, especially if he breaks out any of his old disco moves.”

“See? Plus, think of all the slow dances. When was the last time we slow danced together?”

“Well………………”

He gives her a lift of his eyebrows. “We could sneak off to one of our old make out spots. For old time’s sake of course.”

“Oh, of course, old time’s sake.”

“What do you say, will you do it?” 

She looks over to him to see him giving her his best puppy dog eyes. “Criminy. Oh, okay, I’m doing this for you. Well, and maybe a little bit for messing with Dunn.”

Relieved, he kisses her cheek. “Thank you, Helga, you won’t regret it. We’re gonna have a great time, I promise.”


	58. Chapter 58

Phoebe wakes up, rubbing the night’s sleep out of her eyes as she lays on her back. Even though the shade is drawn on the bedroom window, she can tell by what light does leak in that it’s another foggy morning. Turning her head she looks at the clock on the nightstand. Checking the time she sees that it’s past her normal 6 AM wake-up and realizes that she had forgotten to set her alarm. Normally she would already be up and well into her morning routine of a quick jog through the neighborhood, then a shower and light breakfast before starting her day. She’s not too disappointed, though, because she really isn’t in the mood to exercise anyway. In a few hours she will be heading to the airport and she still needs to pack. She had meant to do it earlier in the week but between studying and test taking, the time just slipped away. 

She’s usually not so scatterbrained, but seeing Gerald again has been laying heavy on her mind, leaving little room for other thoughts. He’s going to be expecting an answer from her as to whether or not she’s willing to take him back, and time is running out for her to make up her mind as to what she’s going to say. It’s not that she’s going to break up with him. No, she’s pretty much known for a while now that she’ll be taking him back. It’s more the fact that she needs to make it very clear to him that there are no third chances. She goes by the old adage, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” and she is no fool. 

Throwing off the covers, she swings her legs over the side and slips her feet into a pair of ratty, but comfortable, slippers. She wears Gerald’s old jersey as a night shirt. It’s the old red one he used to wear throughout their PS 118 days. It’s not as bright as it once was, and the white 33 that sits on the front of it has grayed some, but it’s a part of him she took with her when she first left for college. 

It was the night before the two separated to go their own ways and he wanted her to have a reminder of him. He wanted it to be something personal and from the heart. He thought of jewelry, but he knew that Phoebe’s tastes were simple and that she never was one for flashy adornments. Then he thought of his jersey. When he had outgrown the old relic he’d had a hard time getting rid of it. He had worn it so often it was like a part of him, so instead of tossing it into the rag bag, he folded it up neatly and tucked it away deep into one of his dresser drawers. There it sat, all through middle and high school. Every so often he would run across it as he looked for something to wear and he would take it out always holding a deep reverence for it and the memories it brought to mind. How often in their younger years would Phoebe lean up against him when at the movies, or in front of the TV, and trace the bold 33 with her fingers. He always loved the feel of her fingers as they etched that sacred number above his quickly beating heart, with him sometimes responding with a gentle kiss to the top of her head. 

The minute he thought of the jersey he knew that it would be the perfect gift for her to take to college. So, wrapping it up, he gave it to her on their last night together. They were alone at her house, her parents out for the night, and they sat watching a movie he had rented on his way over. It was a movie that they had both seen more than once, so they watched it with just a mild interest. Turning to her, he hooked a finger under her chin, guiding her face in his direction. He kissed her, eliciting a giggle and deep blush of her cheeks. Smiling back, he pulls the gift he brought out of his backpack.

“I – uh, have something for you to take with you tomorrow when you leave for college.” His voice is deep and full of an emotion he is doing a very poor job of hiding.

“Why Gerald, whatever could it be? I feel bad because I didn’t get you anything.”

“No, don’t feel bad, it’s not much. Just a little part of me to take with you while we’re apart. Something that when you look at it you’ll hopefully think of me.”

With her curiosity at full throttle, she rips into the package and sits in silence as she sees the old jersey. It’s folded so the numbers stare up at her. “Oh, Gerald.” She says as she traces them with the tips of her fingers.

He can tell she’s touched by his gift, and he heaves a small sigh of relief. “This old jersey saw us through a lot of times, both good and bad. It holds a lot of memories and I want you to have it.”

She’s at a loss for words as she takes the old shirt out of the box. Standing up, she removes the dress she is wearing and slips on Gerald’s shirt. It feels good as the worn material caresses her skin. It hangs down to mid-thigh, with the shoulder seams trailing down her arms. 

Holding her arms out, she gives a little twirl. “How do I look?”

“You actually look quite ravishing my little Senorita.” He says as he quickly stands up, pulling her into a tight embrace. 

Plastering his mouth to hers, his tongue parts her lips in its search for hers. Finding it, his tongue dances across hers, causing a quiet moan to escape her. Scooping her up in his arms, he carries her up the stairs to her bedroom. Placing her on the bed he looks down at her, his heart skipping a beat over how sensuous she looks as the oversized jersey hangs over one of her shoulders, exposing her pale skin. Throwing off his shirt and pants, he kneels in front of her, his mouth making a beeline for her beckoning shoulder. He sinks his teeth in hard enough to cause her to gasp, then runs his tongue across the marks his teeth have left in her flesh. He lingers there, gently sucking as his hands run up the inside of the jersey. Wrapping her arms around his neck she leans backwards, pulling him with her. 

The love they make that night is almost feral in intensity as they know that this will be their last night together for a while. The whole time she keeps on the jersey, adding to the many memories it holds. When they are done they lay side by side, neither one ready for the inevitable good-bye that is looming over them. Unfortunately, though, time stands still for no one and they must break apart. So amid promises of fidelity and plans to meet up as often as possible, Gerald says goodnight, walking the few blocks to his house alone.

That night seems so long ago to her now as she shuffles her way to the kitchen. It’s going to take some pretty strong coffee this morning to knock the cobwebs out of her head so she can get on with the tasks at hand. Once leaving her bedroom she finds that her roommates have already left for the day and she’s glad to have the apartment to herself. After making the coffee she takes it to the table where she pours herself a bowl of cereal. 

She picks up her phone and pulls up a text conversation she has going on with Gerald. She scrolls through their chat until she reaches a video he had sent to her. He sent it right after she told him she needed time and to not contact her. At first she wouldn’t allow herself to watch it, but with her curiosity getting the better of her, she gave in. In it he’s sitting alone in the living room of his apartment. The lights are low and he has a cheap old acoustic guitar that he picked up at a pawn shop when they were in the 10th grade. He was self-taught and pretty much played by ear. Strumming a few intro chords, he eases his way into an old Guns N Roses song. It’s the best way he saw to express to her his take on their situation so the words he sings are heartfelt and to the point. She watches his face, his eyes stare off to somewhere off camera and she imagines him picturing her in his mind. A particular line runs through her head “…take it slow and things will be just fine. You and I’ll just use a little patience…” She took that as his agreeing to her demands of him giving her time to work things out in her own way. 

Getting up, she puts her dirty dishes into the dishwasher and heads back to the bedroom. She pulls out her suitcase from the closet and begins the chore of packing. Figuring that she will have access to her parent’s washer and dryer, she packs light, leaving room to bring back any Christmas presents she may get. The last thing to pack is the old jersey she wears and, slipping it off, she lays it on top of the rest of her clothes. She stares at it, lost in her thoughts, not even realizing that she is standing in the middle of her bedroom wearing nothing but her panties. She’s torn from her thoughts when a call comes through on her phone. Looking at the caller ID she sees that it’s Helga. She answers it as she walks to her dresser to pull out something to wear.

“Hey, Helga.” She says halfheartedly.

“Well, hey to you too. You sound distracted. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No, I was just finishing up packing my suitcase and I guess I got lost in a daydream.”

“Wow, that’s what I call cutting it close, still haven’t packed and your plane leaves in two hours. So, I’m still on board for picking you up, right? No………. changes to the plan?”

“If you mean have I changed my mind and will let Gerald pick me up, then no, no changes to the plan.”

“Okay, just thought I’d check. I’ll meet you at the baggage claim then. I can’t wait to see you!”

“Yeah, same here. I’m excited to be back too. See you soon.”

Realizing that Helga is right, she figures she’d better get a move on and finishes getting ready for her flight. 

xxxxx

She had made sure to arrange for someone to be waiting at the airport when she arrived back in Hillwood. Unfortunately, with all that had been going on over the last few weeks, she totally forgot to arrange for a ride on her side of the trip. It is for that reason that she is now standing outside her apartment, waiting for an Uber driver to come and get her. She’s not comfortable using a service like Uber when she’s traveling alone. Her vivid imagination always gets the best of her and she’s sure that once she steps into the car that will be the last anyone will ever hear from her. Of course her worry is for naught, and she arrives at the airport in one piece, with plenty of time before her flight. 

With it being the last Saturday before Christmas, Phoebe arrives to find the airport crowded and bursting with activity. She’s glad she paid the nominal fee to assure her a good seat on the plane and sits and waits for her flight to be called for boarding. Once on the plane, she takes a window seat and, like Gerald, hopes she can make it through the flight without having to talk to anyone. She makes herself appear inaccessible by sticking in a pair of earbuds and closing her eyes as she listens to music. Luckily it’s a quick flight and before she knows it the plane is preparing for it’s decent into her small hometown. Once on solid ground she takes her spot in the que as the passengers slowly file off the plane. When she reaches the baggage area she scans the crowd for Helga. After a moment she finally spies the familiar blonde head that she knows so well and yells her name as she smiles.

“Helga! Over here!”

Turning at the sound of her name Helga spots her friend and goes walking up to her. She wears Phillip in his front snuggly pouch so a side hug from her friend will have to suffice as they greet each other.

“Oh Helga!” Phoebe exclaims as she gets a good look at Phillip. “Look at how adorable he is. He looks just like Arnold.”

“Yeah, he does, the poor kid.” Helga jokes. “But all kidding aside, we are kinda proud of our little guy.”

“And well you should be. He’s just beautiful.”

The newly reunited friends chat happily as they wait for Phoebe’s bag to come circling around on the baggage carrousel. When Phoebe sees her bag it takes a bit of effort but she is eventually able to retrieve her it and the two girls head for the warmth of the car.

“I forgot how cold it is this time of year here.” Phoebe says as she pulls her coat tightly around her.

“Yeah, and it’s been a particularly cold winter so far this year too.” Helga says as she turns up the car’s heater.

Although she’s dying to bring it up, Helga does her best to let Phoebe be the one to bring up her and Gerald. So, looking for a conversation starter, she mentions to Phoebe the couple of times last week when her mind wandered to the direction of having another baby.

“I mean, that’s crazy, right Pheebs?”

“Well, given the fact that your current child is not yet four months old, I’d have to say that the idea of having a second child does seem a bit excessive. Have you talked to Arnold about it?”

“Ohhh, heck no. I could see him going one of two ways. He’d either jump at the chance, or think I’ve gone off the deep end and have me committed, and I don’t think I like either of those scenarios. I was thinking it was just a case of an overabundance of hormones or something.”

“That could very well be. You know, even though people use the six week mark as being all healed and ready to take on life as normal, in reality it can take up to a full year for your body to fully recover from having a baby. That combined with being on birth control while still nursing can cause some pretty strange behaviors.”

Helga lets out a relieved breath at Phoebe’s words. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that. It’s like getting professional confirmation that I’m not crazy.”

Getting off the highway, Helga takes the long way to Phoebe’s house, bringing them past the many landmarks of their childhood. Passing PS 118, Helga slows down as they look at the old school. “It looks so much smaller now that we’re grown.” She says.

“It sure does. Look at how low the monkey bars are. Remember when we were kids, we thought the structure was so tall. I was so scared the first time I climbed to the top. I remember you sitting up there cheering me on.” Phoebe gives Helga a gentle smile. “You were always there, encouraging me to push myself physically and reach beyond what I thought I was capable of. I never thanked you for that.”

A little bit embarrassed by the sentiment, Helga blushes. “Well, you more than paid me back by always being there for me with all that went on in my crappy childhood. Between my dysfunctional family and my irrational crush on Arnold, I wouldn’t have made it out alive without you.”

Helga’s words bring back a memory to Phoebe of the summer right before 7th grade. It was before Big Bob finally acquiesced and added cell phones and other electronics to his dying line of beepers. The family was in financial crisis, with the building pressure of possibly losing their home pushing Miriam to the verge of spiraling downward in her addiction. That was the same summer Arnold began a short lived, short lived being all of three weeks, relationship with a new girl that had just moved into town.

It was too much for Helga, she had reached her breaking point and one night, after everyone had gone to sleep, she emptied both her father’s wallet and her mother’s purse, and, using the self-serve ticket machines at the bus station, bought a one-way bus ticket for as far south as she could get. Any time anyone would inquire as to what a young girl like herself was doing traveling all alone she would just tell them that she was on her way to visit her grandparents for the summer. The stopping point for this little adventure turned out to be that of Los Angeles, California. Hollywood, to be exact. Now Hollywood may be known for glamor and excitement, but when you’re a twelve-year-old with hardly any money and no place to stay, glamorous is hardly the right word to use. 

For a full week she became a part of the seedy side of life. It wasn’t so bad during the day when she could pretty much keep to herself with no one bothering to give her a second glance. She would just find some out of the way place to sit and write in her journal. It was the night time that she came to fear as she tried to blend into the shadows in an effort to not be seen. Anyone thinking the streets of Hillwood were rough had never been lost and alone on the streets of Hollywood at night. She found herself ending up filthy and starving, experiencing things that no twelve-year-old should. Between the hookers, male and female alike, and drug deals gone wrong she felt lucky when each morning came and she was alive to see the sun rise over the Hollywood sign. 

On one particular night she was tucked behind a dumpster in an alley way, eating some discarded food she had scrounged up when a fight broke out on the street right outside of where she was sitting. It was a drug deal gone wrong where someone had tried to pull a fast one on the wrong people. The poor sap was dragged into the alleyway and beaten within an inch of his life, then just left for dead, right before Helga’s eyes. As the guys took off running, one of them looked Helga straight in the eye. He hesitated for a moment, taking a step towards her. She was terrified of what was going to happen to her when all of a sudden a siren could be heard from down the boulevard. Hearing the siren the guy thought it best to vacate the area as fast as possible, leaving Helga to babysit the near dead body that lay in front of her. Too scared to move, she just sat there, huddled against the wall. It was when the police came to investigate what had happened that they found Helga sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees which were pulled up tight to her body as she rocked back and forth. 

She was taken into the police station but refused to tell them who she was or give them any information as to what she had witnessed. It wasn’t until they checked their list of runaways that they saw her picture and was able to get in touch with the authorities in Hillwood.

Her disappearance had been covered up and explained as her just going off to visit relatives for the week. The only person to know the real story was Phoebe, and it was Phoebe’s friendship that kept Helga from falling into the abyss that kept calling to her. Even Arnold wasn’t told the truth of that missing week until years afterwards. It wasn’t until she felt herself secure enough in their relationship to let him in by handing him the journal she had kept with her during her week long struggle to survive.

It took many, many sessions with her childhood psychologist, Dr. Bliss, for Helga to come to terms with what happened to her that summer, and to this day it’s not something that’s talked about very often. This is why the two friends now just give each other knowing looks with Helga feeling truly blessed to have a friend like Phoebe.

Pulling away from the school Helga continues on to Phoebe’s parent’s house. They come up to Gerald’s old house along the way and Helga drives just a little slower as they pass it by. Phoebe gives her friend a stern look.

“I know what you’re up to, Helga.”

“What? Me, up to something? I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

“Sure you don’t. You’re trying to soften me up by literally driving down memory lane in hopes of me going easy on Gerald.”

“Now, Pheebs, you can’t blame a girl for trying, can you?”

Phoebe just shakes her head at her friend knowing that the girl’s heart is in the right place. They eventually reach Phoebe’s destination and the two girls hug and make plans for some last minute Christmas shopping after Phoebe’s had a day or two to settle in.

Helga’s drives home in silence, the only noise coming from Phillip who’s beginning to wake up in the back seat. She counts her blessings one more time, this time being sure to add Arnold and Phillip into the mix.


	59. Chapter 59

Helga sits across from Arnold at the kitchen table enjoying the Sunday breakfast he had made for the two of them. Their conversation naturally turns to the topic of their two best friends.

“You know,” Helga says between bites, “with Phoebe being her usual, meticulous, self, it’s going to take forever for her and Gerald to get back together with the way she has to always over examine everything. Do you know that when he went to see her after she got home she made him go on a double date WITH HER PARENTS? Poor guy, even I feel sorry for him.”

“She’s being cautious, Helga, that’s just how she is. You know better than anyone that she’s never been one to just jump into things.”

“Yeah, but at the rate she’s going it will be time for her to head back home before she finally tells him she’s taking him back.”

Arnold tilts his head to the side, narrowing his eyes. “Do you know something you’re not telling me?”

Bringing her hand up to her forehead she gives a quiet “dammit” under her breath. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Oh yes you did! I knew you knew more than you were letting on. So just how long have you known that she’s going to take him back?”

She points a finger right at Arnold’s face and gives him a stern look. “Listen, Bucko, you’d better not tell anyone, especially Gerald, what you know. Phoebe has to be the one to tell him. Anyway, to answer your question, I didn’t find that part out until yesterday when I drove her home.”

“Has she told you when she’s going to tell him?”

“No, that’s the frustrating part. All she keeps saying is that she needs time. I think what she really needs is a little push to get the ball rolling.”

Arnold rolls his eyes as he wonders just what Helga’s scheming up this time. “Hel-ga, what’s going on in that head of yours? You’re not thinking of interfering are you?”

“Don’t think of it as interfering, think of it as lending a hand to two people in such desperate need of help. Plus it’s not just me, you have a part to play in this too.”

“Me? Oh no, I refuse to get involved.”

“But you have to, he’s your best friend and you know there’s nothing more in this world he wants right now than to get back together with Phoebe. Besides, just think of how grateful he’ll be to you if we can make that happen sooner rather than later.”

“I know I’m going to regret this, but what is it you have in mind?”

A huge smile spreads across Helga’s face as she tells him of her plan. “Well, all they really need is some uninterrupted alone time in a quiet, neutral place, right? And what better place than the boarding house. If we can get them here alone they’d have no choice but to talk.”

“Okay, and how do you plan on doing that?”

“Well, that’s where you come in. So we make up a story about how you promised me a romantic night out on the town but we have to cancel because we can’t find anyone to watch Phillip. We make up some excuse as to why neither my parents nor Olga can watch him. Then you ask Gerald if he’ll do it and have him get here first. Then I’ll get Phoebe to agree to help out having her arrive here a few minutes later. Once they’re both here we quickly run out the door forcing them to stay and babysit Phillip. It’s as simple as that.”

“Riiiight. And what if, once Phoebe sees that Gerald is here, she turns around and leaves, leaving him alone with our child?”

“She won’t do that, trust me. I know her better than she knows herself.”

Arnold thinks about Helga’s plan for a bit and figures that there could be a small possibility that it would work so he humors her and agrees. “Okay, what have we got to lose besides our two best friends? I say let’s do it.”

Giving a squeal Helga jumps up and runs to the other side of the table, giving Arnold a big hug. “You won’t regret this, you’ll see. It’s bound to work.”

xxxxx

Later that day Arnold joins Gerald on one of the basketball courts at City Park. He figures that this is as good a time as any to put Helga’s little plan into action and he puts on a glum face as the two men play a friendly game of H.O.R.S.E. Bouncing the ball a few times, he purposely misses what should have been a very easy shot, causing Gerald to finally notice his gloomy demeanor. 

“Hey, you alright Arnold? A blindfolded Timberly could have made that shot.”

“Yeah, I’m okay. I just have some stuff on my mind is all.”

“It must be something pretty heavy to have Mr. Sunshine and Rainbows looking so down. So spill it. What’s wrong?”

“Well, it’s just that ever since Phillip was born Helga and I really haven’t had a lot of opportunities to go out and do stuff together like we used to. So I had promised her a romantic night out on the town, something really fancy. Dinner at Chez Paris, then dancing afterwards. It was all set to go for tomorrow night when her parents cancelled on us. Something about a big party that Bob had forgotten about, with a really important client that he and Miriam just can’t miss.”

Bouncing the ball, Gerald lines up another easy shot for Arnold as he talks. “What about Olga? You know how gaga she is over Phillip. Can’t she and Samuel watch him?”

“No, they have some holiday fundraiser they’ve signed up for and will be busy with that. I just feel so bad to have to disappoint Helga, she was really looking forward to a nice night out.”

Gerald thinks about it for a moment as Arnold takes his shot. “I’m not doing anything tomorrow night, I guess I could watch the little guy for you. That is, if Helga trusts me with him.”

Arnold gives his friend a big smile. “Of course she trusts you, after all, you are his Uncle Gerald. Thanks, man, I’m going to really owe you one for this.”

“Awww, it’s okay. What time do you want me to come over?”

Arnold thinks for a second, trying to remember what Helga said. “7:00 should be just fine.”

“Alright then, now, get your head back in the game so I don’t feel so bad when I win.”

Never really being the type to manipulate his friends, Arnold is surprised at how easy it was to get Gerald to agree. He watches his friend sink his next shot as he says, “Whatever you say, Gerald.”

xxxxx

Helga gives Phoebe a call under the guise of seeing how she’s settling in at home. She does her best to sound forlorn. Something that Phoebe picks up on right away.

“Helga, you sound depressed, is something wrong?”

Helga hates deceiving her best friend, but she figures it’s for a good cause so she goes ahead with her plan. “Well, it’s just that Arnold had surprised me with plans for a really romantic night out tomorrow but at the last minute both our babysitters cancelled on us so we can’t go.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah, I was really looking forward to it, too. We haven’t had a chance to do anything alone since Phillip came along. This was going to be our big night out.”

“I would hate for you two to miss out on your night. I could come over and babysit if you’d like.”

Helga’s thinks to herself that it’s a good thing Phoebe can’t see the look of victory on her face right now. “Oh Pheebs, that’s really sweet of you but you’ve only been home for such a short while. Are you sure you want to skip out on your parents so soon?”

“They’ll be fine, after all, I’m going to be here until well after New Year’s. We’ll have plenty of time together.”

“Well, if you’re sure.”

“I’m positive. What time do you want me there?”

“Oh, I’d say 7:10 to 7:15 would probably be okay.”

“All right then, it’s a date. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Thanks, Pheebs, you’re the best. See you tomorrow.”

Hanging up the phone, Helga quickly dials Chez Paris and crosses her fingers that they just happen to have a table for two available for tomorrow night.

xxxxx

It’s 6:45 and Arnold stands in front of the full-length mirror in their bedroom as he fixes his necktie. “HEL-GAH, get a move on. Gerald will be here soon!”

“All right, all right!” She yells as she comes walking into the bedroom. Have you seen my pink heels? I can’t find them anywhere.”

“They’re right here, where you left them.”

He walks over to her as she sits on the bed putting on her shoes. “I don’t know, Helga. I really hope this works.”

“Aw, quit your worrying, it’s fool-proof.” 

Still not convinced he just shakes his head. “If you say so.”

They hear Phillip start to stir over the baby monitor and Helga hopes he can hold off just a few more minutes before demanding to be fed. She goes downstairs to the kitchen to fix him a bottle when there comes a knock at the door. “Perfect timing.” She thinks to herself as she runs to let Gerald in.

Running to the door, she swings it open. “Gerald, right on time. Come on in.”

As he enters he takes in Helga’s appearance. He gives a short whistle before speaking. “Man, Helga, you are one foxy lady tonight. Arnold’s a lucky man.”

Blushing a bit Helga playfully punches him in his upper arm. “Stop it, you know how I hate that kind of talk.”

“Okay, okay, I was just teasing. So, where is my main man, anyway?”

“He’s upstairs. Phillip was just starting to wake up. Here, I have his bottle ready. You can sit in the rocker in the nursery and feed him. Oh, and tell Arnold to get a move on, we’re going to be late.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Gerald says, giving Helga a little salute. 

A few minutes later Arnold joins Helga downstairs. 

“So, is Gerald in place in the nursery?” Helga asks.

“Yep, so far so good.”

A couple of minutes later there comes a second knock at the door. Opening it up, Helga quickly ushers Phoebe inside. 

“I’m sorry I’m a few minutes’ late guys. The time just got away from me.

“Oh that’s okay, Pheebs. I just checked on Phillip and he was just starting to stir. You can just go on up. We’ve got to run though. Don’t want to miss our reservations you know.” 

“Okay, you two have a good time and stay out as late as you want.”

Phoebe stops in the kitchen to grab Phillip a bottle before making her way upstairs. As she approaches the nursery she notices that the door is partially opened. Listening she swears she hears someone softly singing a quiet lullaby. Peeking through the opened door she is surprised to see Gerald slowly rocking Phillip as he softly sings to him.

“I should have known Helga would do something like this!” She thinks to herself. Staying perfectly quiet, she continues to watch Gerald. His face is soft and serene as he gazes down at the child, his eyes fixed on Phillip’s. It’s a side to Gerald she’s not seen before and it touches her. After another moment she slowly pushes the door open. Hearing the quiet creak the hinges make, Gerald looks up. He’s just as surprised to see Phoebe standing there as she was to see him.

“Phoebe?” He questions, a look of confusion on his face. “What are you doing here?”

“The same thing you are.” She answers back. “I believe you and I have been set up.”

“What? You mean Helga and Arnold…………”

“Yep, they duped us.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? This is their way of trying to get us together.”

“Well how do you like that?” Gerald says as he shakes his head in disbelief. “I never knew my man had it in him to lie like that. And to my face yet!”

Phoebe gives a small chuckle. It’s the first time Gerald’s heard her laugh since their whole ordeal started. He talks to her as he continues to rock Phillip. “I’ve missed that.”

She gives a small tilt to her head. “You’ve missed what?”

“Your laugh. And you. I’ve missed you, Phoebe.”

“I know, Gerald, I’ve missed you too.”

They stare into each other’s eyes, the longing they share for each other pulling at them. The silence in the room is finally broken by a loud burp that comes from the vicinity of Gerald’s arms. Looking to Phillip, they both let out a hearty laugh.

“I think someone wants some attention.” Gerald says as he gets up. “Come on, let’s go down to the family room where we can talk.”

They sit next to each other on the couch. It’s Phoebe’s turn to hold Phillip and the two stare down at him with Phoebe cooing softly to him as Gerald proceeds to make one silly face after another. 

“I still can’t get over how much he looks like Arnold.” Phoebe says as she examines Phillip’s features.

“Yeah, but he’s got Helga’s temper.”

“Ohhh, then they’re going to have their hands full as he grows up.”

“You can say that again.” Gerald says as he puts his arm around Phoebe’s shoulders. It’s a natural reaction he has to being so close to her and neither of them even realize that he’s done it. 

They stay that way as they begin the conversation that has been a long time in coming. Again, Gerald expresses just how sorry he is for everything that has happened, taking full responsibility. With so much time gone by Phoebe is more open to listening to him, doing her best to understand where he’s coming from. She makes it a point to make sure he knows that if anything like this was to ever happen again there would be no other chances. He understands this and assures her that it will never happen again. 

The conversation goes on until they are both talked out. Looking at Phoebe now he holds his breath as he finally asks her the one question that still lays heavy on his mind. 

“So, Phoebe, what’s your answer? Are you willing to take me back?”

She doesn’t answer him right away, instead she pauses as if to give the question one final thought. Finally, she smiles as she nods her head. “Yes, Gerald, I forgive you and I am willing to give it another go.”

Happier than he can ever remember being, he places the palms of his hands on her cheeks and leans in, giving her a deep, lingering kiss. He starts to wrap his arms around her when he realizes that she is still holding a now sleeping Phillip.

Looking down at the sleeping child, Phoebe suggests that they put him back in his crib where he can sleep in peace. They make their way up to the nursery where Phoebe lays Phillip down in his crib. 

They watch the sleeping child for a bit before Gerald turns Phoebe to face him. Wrapping her up in his arms, he kisses her once more. This time the kiss is fueled with a new passion, the passion of two lovers finally coming together after a long separation. Unable to restrain himself Gerald takes Phoebe by the hand, leading her out of the nursery. He stands in the hallway for a moment, wondering which room they should use. With a smile on his face, he makes sure Phoebe has Phillip’s baby monitor and leads her up to Arnold’s old bedroom. Laying her down on the bed, they look up at the stars above them, his arm around her as her head lays on his chest. After a bit she begins to nuzzle his neck and that’s all it takes. 

Rolling on top of her he looks down, staring into her eyes. “Phoebe Heyerdahl,” he says softly, “You are my life.”

“I know.” Is all she says as she smiles back up at him.

xxxxx

 

It’s late as Arnold and Helga make their way back to the boarding house. They’re tired and their feet hurt from a night of dancing. They are anxious to find out just how the night went for their friends.

“So do you think they both ended up staying?” Helga questions.

“I have no idea. I sent Gerald a text a little while ago but he never answered me back.

“Ohhhh, I hope that’s not a bad sign. Maybe we should have kept our nose out of things.”

“Well it’s too late now. All we can do is wait and see.”

Once they arrive at the boarding house they quietly let themselves in. They’re surprised to find the bottom floor dark but figure that whomever it was that stayed was probably sleeping in one of the empty rooms. They whisper as they walk up the stairs. The first thing they do is check on Phillip. They are happy to find him quietly sleeping in his crib. Turning to leave they begin to find out just who stayed and where they are sleeping. Checking the rooms on the floor they’re on they find them all to be empty.

“That’s odd.” Helga says, “All the rooms are empty. Where could they be?”

“I have no idea.” Arnold says, before turning to look further down the hall. With a smile on his face, Arnold grabs his wife’s arm. “Helga, look.” He says, pointing to the stairs that lead to his old room. “Whomever it is, is sleeping up in my old room. Maybe they wanted to stargaze before falling asleep.”

They quietly make their way up the stairs. Very carefully, they crack open the door. Peeking inside they are surprised to find both Gerald and Phoebe, in each other’s arms and sound asleep in Arnold’s old bed, the baby monitor sitting on one of the shelves above their heads.

Helga lets out a gasp at the unexpected sight, the noise causing Gerald to start to stir. Arnold quickly pulls Helga away from the door. They do their best to stifle their giggles until they are safely in their own room.

“Did you see that?” Helga exclaims. “I KNEW it would work!”

“I have to hand it to you.” Arnold says as he strips out of his clothes, “You certainly were right.”

“Did you ever doubt me?” Helga says, doing the same.

“Welllllllll, I do admit that I wasn’t 100% sure how things would go.”

“Well now you know better.” Helga says as she climbs into bed. “So, what do I get for being right?”

Giving her a mischievous smile, he reaches for the bottom drawer of the nightstand, pulling it open to reveal a plethora of “toys”. Motioning towards them he says with a twinkle in his eye, “Whatever you wish.”


	60. Chapter 60

The weather has cleared a bit this morning and the rays of the sun hit Gerald smack dab in the middle of his face as they shine through the glass ceiling. Throwing an arm over his eyes to shield them he takes a moment to figure out just what he’s doing in Arnold’s old bedroom. Suddenly remembering, he sits upright, the covers falling to reveal his bare chest. Looking to the side of him he smiles as he sees the familiar shape of Phoebe. She’s turned away from him, her dark hair barely peeking out from the covers. Laying back down he inches closer to her, placing his arm around her waist. He just lays there, holding her as she sleeps, relishing the much missed feel of her body. 

Eventually she stirs, her rounded bottom unintentionally rubbing against him in a very sensuous way. Unable to resist, he grinds against her, letting out a soft moan. The feel of his breath on her neck fully wakes her up and she, too, has a moment of confusion before remembering the night before. She places her arm over the one that surrounds her and leans into her newly reunited lover. 

She savors the warmth of his body as she cuddles close. “Mmmm, I could wake up like this every morning.”

He rolls her so she’s facing him, giving her a hopeful look. “Well, you know, we could at least wake up like this while you’re here. You don’t have to go back to your parent’s house. Stay with me at my apartment.”

She thinks about it for a moment. “I don’t know, my parents have really been looking forward to me being home for the holidays.”

“Well, then after Christmas. You don’t go back to California until mid-January. We could at least have a couple of weeks together, with you waking up in my arms every morning. Come on, what do you say?”

“You really do drive a hard bargain, don’t you?”

He flashes her one of his award winning smiles. “You know it. So is that a yes?”

“Let’s think of it more of a maybe leaning towards yes.”

“I’ll take it!” He says as he presses his lips to hers as if to seal the deal. 

As the kiss deepens her hands roam his body before settling at his hips. Spreading her legs she pulls his hips into her, almost purring as he enters her. Conscious of the fact that there are other people in the house with them, they do the best they can to be quiet as they pick up from where they left off the night before.

xxxxx

The two dress quietly as they prepare to head downstairs. Phoebe grabs the baby monitor and realizes that they never even heard one peep out of Phillip all night. Carrying it with her the couple makes their way to the kitchen where they find their two best friends sipping coffee as they engage in quiet conversation. Helga is the first to notice them. “Well, well, look at what the cat dragged in.” She says teasingly.

They both give their friends a bit of an embarrassed smile as they make their way to the coffee maker. Pouring themselves a mug full, they join Arnold and Helga at the table.

They sit in awkward silence for a bit before Helga finally breaks the ice. “Arnold and I want to thank you guys for taking such good care of Phillip last night. We really appreciated it.”

“We were glad to do it.” Phoebe says as she looks at Gerald. After another moment of silence she continues. “And I would like to thank you two for tricking Gerald and I into being together.”

Helga feigns innocence. “What? You accuse us of trickery? Why, we did no such thing.”

“Surrrre, Helga.” Gerald says narrowing his eyes at her. “So you two just happened to forget that you each asked one of us to babysit?”

“Welllll, I never said that.” Helga says through a smile.

“Mmm-hmmm, I thought so.”

“Soooooo,” Arnold says, “I take it you two are finally back together then?”

Phoebe and Gerald look into each other’s eyes before turning their attention to their friends and answering Arnold’s question simultaneously. “YES.”

“Thank God. If I had to put up with this one moping around and complaining about how much he missed you any longer I’d have gone out of my mind.” Helga says as she hooks her thumb in Gerald’s direction.

Arnold eyes brighten as he thinks about New Year’s Eve. “Hey, we can all go together to Rhonda’s party now, and if it goes on too late you guys can stay here for the night. Lila and Stinky may also be staying over. It’ll be fun.”

Helga points to Arnold. “Yeah, I’ve already got the position of designated driver for this one, so you guys can party all you want and I can just drive everyone back here.”

Phoebe clasps her hands to her chest. “Oh, then we can have a big brunch in the morning to kick off the New Year!”

Helga gets up and heads to the refrigerator. “Okay then, it’s settled. Now, how does everyone want their eggs?”

xxxxx

Amanda sits in the passenger seat of Travis’s car as he drives her to the airport. She’s heading to her home town of Bozeman, MT for Christmas and is anxious to get out of the grime of Hillwood and head back to some cleaner air and blue skies. She’s going to use this trip as an opportunity to regroup her thoughts and figure out just what her next course of action will be once she gets back. She underestimated Helga and knows that any direct attacks on her would be fruitless. Then there was Arnold. She’s never met a guy so loyal to his wife and friends. She’s also never met a guy she couldn’t manipulate with her body or her words. Those two made for quite the impenetrable pair. No, if she was going to ruffle their feathers, she’d have to do it through someone else. 

She looks at Travis and again feels a bit sorry to have to use him like she is. After all, he really is a nice enough guy. But he’s also very gullible, thus making him the perfect pawn in her little game. Travis notices how quiet she’s being and feels bad, thinking it’s because of the fight they had the other day. 

“A penny for your thoughts.” He says, finally getting her attention.

“Huh? What?”

“You seemed lost in your thoughts. Are you okay?”

She gives him a sweet smile. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking about how much I’m going to miss you while I’m gone.”

A slight frown comes to Travis’s face. “Yeah, I’m going to miss you too, but it’s only for a few days. I’ll be waiting for you at the airport when you get back.”

“Good, but you’ll have a good time with your family on Christmas, I’m sure.”

“Oh, yeah, my family loves Christmas. Plus it’s the one time of year the whole family gets together, cousins and aunts and uncles included.”

“See, it will be fun, and before you know it, I’ll be back.”

He gives her a hopeful look. “We’re still on for New Year’s, right?”

She shoots him a sweet smile. “Of course, there isn’t anyone else I’d rather ring in the New Year with than you.” 

Happy to hear that, Travis drives the rest of the way to the airport with a big smile on his face. When they finally arrive he offers to park and wait with her in the terminal but she refuses the offer. So, giving her a big kiss and a hug good-bye, he watches her with a heavy heart as she walks away.

xxxxx

Being good to her word, Tonya sits across from Charles as he orders a nice big lunch. Not very hungry herself, she just orders a salad and a glass of iced tea. When their food arrives she looks at his plate in amazement.

“Oh my Lord, how can such a skinny guy as you hold so much food in your stomach?”

“Hey, what can I say? I’m still a growing boy.”

“I guess that makes sense, how tall are you now, 10, 12 feet?”

“I’m 6’2” and watch it with the jokes or I won’t help you with whatever it is you need. Just what is it you want, anyway?”

Tonya takes a sip of her tea, wondering how to start. “First let me ask you something. Do you remember last spring when the football team had that big awards ceremony in the school’s gym?”

He narrows his eyes at her. “Yeah, I vaguely remember that.”

“Do you remember how afterwards everyone was talking about how, when they went to play the video recapping that season’s games, someone had hacked into the system and replaced the video with one of chimpanzees dressed up as football players running around a makeshift football field?”

Charles gives a laugh as he remembers the incident very well. “Yeah, I may have heard something about that happening. Why?”

“I was just curious, how easy is something like that to do?”

Charles takes a bite of food and chews it slowly as he studies Tonya. “For someone like you, not easy at all. For someone that knows what they’re doing, and with the outdated system the school uses, extremely easy.”

“And the chances of someone that knows what they’re doing getting caught?”

“Slim to none.”

“Tell me, are you planning on attending this year’s Winter Ball?”

“Me? Hell no. You know how I hate school functions like that.” He gives her a smile as he jokes, “Why? You suddenly madly in love with me and want to ask me out to the Ball?”

She gives him a chuckle. “No, of course not.”

“Okay then, so what’s the big deal with the dance?”

“Well, me and the girls are a part of the decorating committee, and we’ve been in meetings with Principal Dunn and I just happen to know that the DJ will be having video going on behind him as he plays the music.”

“Sooo?”

“So, let’s say someone wanted to interrupt the video that the DJ is playing without anyone knowing about it. Is that something that’s easily done?”

“Well, I – I mean, a hacker wouldn’t be able to edit the guys video, but they could interrupt it and put up whatever they wanted.”

Tonya gets a cynical look in her eyes. “Excellent. And what would it cost someone to have something like that done?”

Charles sits back in his seat, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He looks at Tonya for a minute before answering. “Depends on how good of friends they are. In a job like this, I’d say two dinners and a lunch would suffice. So, now will you tell me what this is all about?”

With a smile and a nod of her head, Tonya proceeds to fill Charles in.

xxxxx

Having said good-bye to their two friends, Helga reluctantly sits at her computer to begin working on an article for her parenting blog that’s due right before Christmas Day. She’s put it off and now is under pressure to get it done. As she opens the file she had been working on a “You’ve Got Mail” notification gives a warning ding. Eager to do anything but work, she clicks into her email. She notices that it’s from Sid, and that it contains copies of the pictures he took of them the other day. Anxious to get a look at them, she calls for Arnold.

“Arnold! Hey, Arnold! Come here, quick!”

He comes in from the kitchen, he’s got Phillip in his arms and is feeding him a freshly warmed bottle of breast milk. “Geeze, calm down. What is it?”

“Look.” She says pointing to the computer screen, “It’s the pictures from Sid.”

“Wow. That was quick.” He says as he pulls up a chair to sit next to Helga.

They scroll through the pictures, amazed at the quality of them.

“Man, he sure is good at what he does.” Arnold says in awe. “It’s going to be hard to pick a favorite.

“I know, they’re all so perfect. Oh, look at how cute Phillip is in this one! And you’re so adorable in your Santa hat!”

Arnold blushes a bit at Helga’s last comment. “I still can’t believe I let you talk me into wearing it.”

“Yeah, but look at how cute we all look together.” He has to admit that the hats do add a nice holiday touch to the pictures, but still hopes they don’t become a holiday tradition.

After a good half an hour of ooing and awing at themselves, they finally settle on the one Sid snapped just after Arnold had given Helga a kiss. The way little Phillip is looking up at them is just too hard for them to resist.

“Okay then, it’s settled. We’ll use this one.” Helga says as she highlights it and moves it to its own separate file. “Now, if I get these ordered today and put a rush on it, we should get them in plenty of time. They may not make it to everyone by Christmas, but they definitely will by New Year’s.”

With that task done, Arnold leaves taking Phillip with him. Left alone once again, Helga racks her brain, trying to come up with something for her blog. Casting her mind back, a small giggle escapes her as she thinks about Arnold’s last failed diaper adventure. With fingers poised on the keyboard, she begins her article, titling it….

“When Diapers Attack  
One Man’s Journey Into The Unknown”


	61. Chapter 61

The last few days have passed by in a blur as everyone busies themselves with last minute holiday preparations. It took a lot of convincing, but Helga was finally able to talk Olga into letting her and Arnold host Christmas day at the boarding house, providing that Helga let her cook the dinner. Seeing this more as an answered prayer than an inconvenience, Helga is quick to accept. 

Standing in line at the grocery store now, she looks at the overflowing shopping cart in amazement. 

“Criminy, Olga, you’d think we were feeding an army by the looks of our cart. Do we really need all this food?”

“Certainly Baby Sister, it is a holiday after all, and you know that holidays are the time to cook everybody’s favorite dish.”

“Yeah, but do we really need both a ham AND a prime rib roast?”

“Well, you and daddy love your beef, and mother’s family always made ham for Christmas. So whose favorite do we leave out? Besides, think of all the yummy leftovers it will make.”

“Okay, you got me there. I’m just glad old Bob’s footing the bill for this feast because there’s no way Arnold and I could afford to buy all this stuff.”

Helga impatiently bounces Phillip as she holds him in his front snuggly. The movement while Helga walked up and down the isles had pretty much kept him in a catatonic state, but now that they’ve come to a standstill as they wait their turn in line, he begins to fuss.

“Three people in front of us and each one of their carts are as full as ours. This is going to take forever. We shouldn’t have waited until Christmas Eve to do our shopping.”

“Oh just relax and enjoy the atmosphere, Helga. Can’t you just feel the excitement in the air?”

“Excitement? Heh, it’s more like stressed out madness to me.”

Eventually the sisters make their way through the line, and after filling the back of Olga’s car with multiple bags, they make their way to the boarding house. As they drive Helga scans the grocery receipt.

“$300 for one day’s worth of food! That’s ridiculous!”

“Now Baby Sister, that’s not all just for food. We also bought holiday napkins and a tablecloth, aluminum roasting pans and table decorations, plus a bunch of other non-food stuffs.”

Helga shakes her head and says with a mild touch of disgust in her voice, “Consumerism at its worse, that’s what it is. The holiday shouldn’t be about all this stuff, it should just be about family and friends and being happy together.”

“It is about all of that Helga, the rest of this stuff just makes it more festive.”

“Whatever you say, Olga.” Helga says as she folds up the receipt and puts it in Olga’s purse.

xxxxx

Once back at the boarding house Helga acts as Olga’s sous chef as they begin preparing for tomorrow’s meal. Helga uses this as an opportunity to hone her cooking skills and watches everything Olga does with a keen eye, and by late afternoon they have prepped all that can be done ahead of time. Satisfied with a full day’s work, Olga says her good-byes, promising to be back the next day in plenty of time to prepare brunch for the family.

Exhausted, Helga sits on the couch as she breastfeeds Phillip. Seeing that the coast is finally clear, Arnold joins the two in the living room.

“Well you certainly have good timing, don’t you?” Helga says as Arnold sits down beside her. “Where were you all day?”

“Ohhhh, I was here and there, taking care of important matters.”

“Sure you were. You were hiding out, leaving me to suffer alone as Olga’s slave.”

“Well, you know what they say about too many cooks in the kitchen. I didn’t want to get in the way.”

“Mmm-hmm, right. Well, since I slaved all day preparing for tomorrow, you get to be in charge of tonight’s dinner.”

“Okay, I just happen to have the perfect plan for a new Christmas Eve tradition.”

“Oh yeah? And just what is it?”

“Pizza in bed while we watch “A Christmas Story” on TV. They’re running it continual for the next 24 hours. Just you, me and Phillip enjoying a nice cozy dinner.” He gives Helga a kiss on her neck. “Then when Philly Boy goes down for the night, we can have our dessert.”

“Oh? And just what’s for dessert?”

His tongue traces where he’s just kissed her. “I noticed there was an extra can of whipped cream in the fridge. I’m sure we can come up with something for dessert.”

Smiling, Helga gets up and heads towards the stairs, taking a sleeping Phillip along with her. She speaks as she walks away. “You know, I’ve always been a proponent of dessert first.”

Suddenly very hungry, Arnold heads to the fridge before joining Helga upstairs.

xxxxx

Christmas morning rings in bright and clear as Arnold and Helga lay sleeping, content and satisfied. Arnold is the first to wake up. He reaches out an arm in an effort to pull his wife to him, but finds her feet where her head should be. Momentarily confused, he wonders why on earth she is sleeping with her head at the foot of the bed. It’s when he lifts his head to look at her and sees the empty whipped cream can by his hip that his memory comes back to him. Smiling, he laces his fingers behind his head as he lays back, remembering the night before. He thinks about how good her tongue felt as it slowly lapped up each creamy trail she made. He also remembers how the flavors would change from sweet to salty as he’d work his way through the mounds of cream to her skin that lay beneath. 

His body stirs at the thoughts that run through his head. As he moves his leg he inadvertently wakes her up. As her eyes slowly open, she notices his aroused state. Grabbing on to him, she slowly slides her fisted hand up and down, causing a moan to escape his lips. Smiling she gets to her hands and knees and crawls up the length of his body, stopping to leave a kiss here, or a nibble there. When she reaches his lips she lets her tongue trace them. As she begins her second go around his own tongue escapes his lips and finds hers. He presses on her tongue with his, forcing it back into her mouth. Wrapping his arms around her, he rolls her onto her back, deftly slipping inside her as he does so. He can feel her breath on his neck, her moans soft in his ear. It’s not until he picks up the pace that her voice becomes louder as her nails dig deep into his back. 

After they have finished saying their good mornings he continues to lay on top of her, his body completely still. He’s hesitant to move because it’s warm inside of her and he’s not yet ready for the feeling to end. Eventually he is betrayed by his own flesh and blood as his son’s voice can be heard over the baby monitor. Giving him one last kiss, she slides out from under him. As she stands by the bed looking for something to throw on he notices a hickey right below her left hip bone. The memory of how it got there makes him smile. She notices his smile and, looking down at herself, sees the hickey. Shaking her head, she gives a little chuckle as she pulls on his shirt and heads for the nursery.

xxxxx

Later that morning the boarding house is filled with the sounds of laughter and happy conversation as the whole Pataki clan sits enjoying Christmas brunch, compliments of a beaming Olga. She’s once again gone all out preparing a spread of just about every breakfast food you can think of. The family eats their fill then afterwards gathers in front of the tree that Arnold and Helga brought back from Peterson Farms. Upon their arrival at the boarding house, both Bob and Miriam, and Olga and Samuel presented Arnold and Helga with a Christmas ornament for Phillip. Everyone laughed as Helga added the two newest ornaments to the others they had received earlier in the month. 

Time moves slowly as the day turns from morning into evening. For the second time that day Olga has outdone herself by preparing a Christmas dinner fit for a king and his family. When it’s time to serve the dessert Olga is perplexed as to where a missing can of whipped cream could have gone.

“I’m positive we bought two cans of whipped cream.” She says as she searches the refrigerator looking high and low for the AWOL can. 

Helga gives Arnold a sideway glance, having to fight hard to stifle a giggle. “Ohhh, I don’t know, Olga, I seem to remember only buying one.”

xxxxx

As the festivities of the evening begin to come to an end, the atmosphere turns quiet and reminiscent. With a new member to the family thoughts of when Helga and Olga were kids can’t help but come to Bob and Miriam’s mind. Memories of Christmases past are talked about with almost a reverence as each member of the Pataki family remembers the one time of year when they would all come together in as close to a normal family setting as they could get. It’s when Olga mentions how she always loved a white Christmas as a kid, that the topic of a certain pair of snow boots comes up.

Miriam looks over to Helga, catching her by surprise. “Oh, Helga, dear, do you remember that Christmas you just HAD to have that pair of boots that the whole town was going crazy over? What was the name of them again?”

“Do you mean the Nancy Spumoni boots, mother?” Olga asked.

“That’s right, those Nancy Spumoni snow boots. I swear, I thought I’d never be able to get you those, and you wanted them so badly.”

Arnold gives Helga a questioning look. “I didn’t know you had gotten a pair of those coveted snow boots. How come you never wore them to school?”

“Yeah, Helga. Other than when you opened them up on that Christmas Eve, I don’t think I ever remember seeing you wear them. What happened to them?” Asked Miriam.

With all eyes on her, Helga starts to stammer as she speaks. “W-well, I-I, you didn’t expect me to wear something as valuable as those boots to school now, did you? Criminy, and get them all dirty?”

Bob joins in on the conversation, pointing a finger at Helga. “You know, you could have shown a little more gratitude to your mother over those boots. Especially after she spent a full 18 hours waiting in line for them. But what did you do? You leave the house, on Christmas Eve for cripe’s sake, and that was the last anyone ever saw of those boots. I swear, kids today have no gratitude.”

Arnold begins to put two and two together as he looks at Helga with wide eyes. She notices his look and gives him a shake of her head, mentally sending him a message to drop whatever it is he’s going to say. Picking up on the look in her eyes, along with the embarrassed blush that’s formed on her cheeks, he keeps his mouth shut. Once the subject is finally dropped, the conversation returns to other, more pleasant memories of the season. Arnold sits mostly quiet and continues watching Helga with widened eyes. He is astounded by the fact that she would do something so selfless while never once seeking credit for her deed. 

After a bit his stares start to wear on Helga’s nerves so, throwing her hands up into the air, she gets up yelling at Arnold. “Will you stop staring at me like that Football Head! Criminy!” Now with everyone’s eyes on her once again, she turns around and rushes off to the bathroom as a means of escape. Arnold decides to wait until they are alone before daring to talk to Helga about her outburst.

xxxxx

Once everyone has left, the couple goes about their business in an awkward silence. Every time Arnold starts to open his mouth Helga makes some excuse to be in another room. She knows she won’t be able to put him off forever, not her Arnold. When there’s something on his mind he can be like a dog with a bone, constantly gnawing away until he finally gets to the marrow of the matter, so to speak. It’s not until they are both in bed when he finally gets his chance.

She lays feigning sleep as he slides in next to her. He knows she’s faking it and places a hand on her shoulder, moving her so she’s on her back looking up at him. He positions himself on top of her, holding both her arms down so she can’t push him off. She knows it’s futile to struggle and that he won’t let what he has to say drop, so she just lays there looking up at him.

“Umm, you got something to say, Hair Boy?”

His eyes have that sharp, penetrating quality they can get when he’s been giving something serious thought. “Yes, but first I have some questions.”

“I don’t know if I’ll have all the answers, but go ahead and shoot.”

“It was you, wasn’t it? You were my Christmas Angel that year.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, don’t play stupid with me, Helga. You know damn well what I’m talking about. Now tell the truth. It was you who gave Mr. Bailey the snow boots, wasn’t it.”

She turns her face to look out the window. “What if it was? So what?”

He kisses her, using his mouth to turn her head back so she’s looking up at him again. “How did you know?”

“I don’t know, maybe I overheard you and Gerald talking while in Budnick’s.”

He thinks back and remembers running into her there and figures that it could be possible that that’s where she found out about his mission. “Why didn’t you ever tell anyone?”

“Because, I didn’t do it for the glory.”

“Then why did you do it?”

She gives him an exasperated look. “Because I was once told by a certain football headed friend that when you love someone you do things just because it’s the right thing to do. You needed the boots more than I did, so I gave them to Mr. Bailey. Okay?”

“That was a pretty amazing thing to do.”

“Yeah, well, as you know, I’m a pretty amazing person.”

He gives a small chuckle at her words. “Yes, you really are. So why didn’t Mai ever say anything?”

“Well, when Mr. Bailey finally located her, he gave me her address. Later that morning I showed up at her apartment and told her who I was and what I wanted and on the way over to the boarding house I made her swear to never tell anyone who it was that helped find her.”

“Wait a minute, you brought her to the boarding house? You were there that morning?”

Helga nods her head as she gazes up into his eyes.

“Why didn’t you stop in?”

“Because then you would have known that it was me, Doi.”

He’s quiet for a moment, unable to speak as he processes what he’s just learned. “Helga, if I had only known, I…………..”

“You would have what?” She says, interrupting him. “Given me one of your patented hugs in appreciation? Would it have changed things between us? Would you have suddenly realized how deeply in love with me you were and ask me to marry you? No. Nothing would have changed so why bother bringing it up and having everybody gushing over what a good deed I did.”

“Well, it would have proven to everyone how I was right about you. It would have shown them just how selfless and kind you really were back then. They would have seen you as something more than the gruff bully exterior you always wore.”

“Yeah, well, that’s all in the past now. It was more important for Mr. Hyunh to be reunited with his daughter than for me to have an old pair of snow boots and that’s what mattered so that’s why I did what I did.”

Her voice grows quiet and she lowers her eyes as she brings up one last important fact. “That, plus the fact that knowing how important it was for you I figured it was the best Christmas gift I could give you, too.”

He looks down at her, his heart beating so fast she can feel it on her own chest. He slowly shakes his head in amazement. Finally releasing one of her arms, his hand comes up and tilts her chin so she’s looking at him. He smiles as their eyes meet.

“You know, every time I think I finally know all there is to know about you, you go and amaze me with something else. I like to think I have you all figured out, but you are the most complex, and amazing person I know. I can’t help but wonder, what other things have you done in your life that no one knows about? I always thought I was pretty good at being selfless and caring, but you – I don’t even come close to how amazing you are.”

For the first time since the subject was brought up, she smiles. Releasing her other arm from his grasp, she is free to wrap them both around his neck. “Yeah, well, just don’t you ever forget it, Bucko. Oh, and there’s one more thing I never got to tell you to your face that day.”

He moves his face towards hers, their lips softly brush as they talk. “Oh yeah, and what’s that?”

“Merry Christmas, Arnold.”


	62. Chapter 62

The days after Christmas seemed to pass in overdrive as the last remnants of the year slipped away. Arnold sits on the front stoop of the boarding house, his phone sitting almost forgotten beside him as he watches the occasional car whiz by as it makes its way down Vine St. He sees a neighborhood boy somewhere around the age of eight or nine walk by, slowly bouncing a basketball at his side as he walks. If Arnold had to bet any money on it he’d say the boy was most likely on his way to Gerald Field, (“Is it even called that anymore?” he wonders,) hoping to pick up a friend or two to join him at the basketball courts over at City Park. He heaves a sigh as he remembers the carefree days of his youth, the most pressing problems of the day being who like-liked whom and would Wolfgang and his buddies be hogging Gerald Field. 

He’s so lost in his thoughts that he doesn’t hear the door open behind him as Helga comes walking out with Phillip cradled in her arms. He gives a bit of a start as she sits down next to him.

“Oh, Helga! I didn’t hear you open the door.”

“Yeah, I noticed you were pretty much lost in thought. Is anything wrong?”

He looks at her, his green eyes filled, not so much with sorrow, but more with heavy thought. “Not really, I was just sitting here, thinking about when we were kids. Remember how easy life was back then?”

Helga gives a little scoff. “Heh, easy for you, maybe.” 

It’s her turn now to give a far off look as she holds her child close to her chest. Arnold sees the look in her eyes, kicking himself for his thoughtlessness. So caught up in his worries of the day, he had momentarily forgotten what Helga’s life was like when they were growing up. He feels bad now for any sad memories he may have brought to the surface for his wife. He gives her a gentle look as he brushes a flyaway strand of hair back behind her ear.

“I’m sorry, Helga, I didn’t mean to stir up any old feelings.”

She looks at him and gives him a tender smile. “Aw, it’s okay, Arnold. But, really, I can tell by your face something’s up. Come on, spill it.”

He smiles at just how well she can read him. “It’s nothing too much to worry about. I just got off the phone with Artie, the Packard is ready to be picked up.”

“Well I know that bit of news isn’t what’s got you so down in the dumps.”

“No, you’re right there. He just gave me the final total on the bill.”

“Uh oh.” She takes a deep breath in to steady herself. “Okay, so hit me, how much did it come to?”

“Three thousand dollars.” He looks at her and watches her face wince at the total. “I know that’s a lot. I should have never said for him to do whatever needed to be done, or, at least I should have put a limit to the price. I’m sorry, Helga. I had no idea it was going to be so much.”

She swallows as she thinks about how long it’s going to take them to pay off that bill. They’d have to charge it because, get real, who just happens to have a spare three thousand dollars laying around. She kisses the top of Phillip’s head as she turns to face Arnold, the look in his eyes bore right through her to her heart. Putting on her best smile, she reaches out a hand, softly rubbing his shoulders.

“It’s okay, Arnold. You did what had to be done. That old Packard is very important to you. To us. There’s no way you could just let it sit broken in the garage.”

“But, Helga, three thousand dollars? That’s a lot of money, especially when you add the interest that the credit card company charges. It’s going to take months to pay that back.”

Widening her smile, Helga gives him a hearty slap on his back. “Well, Bucko, then it’s a good thing you’re working a full five days a week now, isn’t it?” Getting serious, she looks into his green eyes. “Hey, things have a way of working themselves out, so don’t worry about it. We’ll be okay.”

He gives her a little chuckle as he leans in and kisses her lightly on the lips. “I love you, Mrs. Shortman.”

Looking into his adorable face, she smiles. “You’d better. So, Phoebe and I were going to meet up for lunch today, but if you need me to take you to pick the car up I can meet her afterwards.”

“Naw, it’s okay, Gerald is going to come over to watch football while you and Phoebe are out doing your thing, so he said he’d take me.”

Getting up, she hands Phillip over to Arnold. “Okay then, you’ve got baby duty. I’m off to get ready.” Turning, she disappears into the house, leaving Arnold to sit on the stoop with his son.

He sits alone with his child, and for the first time since Phillip was born, the full weight of what it really meant to be responsible for another human’s life, falls hard on Arnold’s shoulders. He knew when he and Helga had made the decision to bring another being into the world that it was a big responsibility, but, up until just recently things have been coming pretty easily for them. It wasn’t until faced with such an unexpected expense did he realize how easily things could spiral out of control. 

It was his turn now to be hit with a hard case of the “what if’s”. What if Helga lost her job? What if HE lost his job? What if one of them were to get sick, REALLY sick, like months in the hospital sick? Oh how a part of him wishes he were nine again, but, looking into Phillip’s eyes, he knows that in reality, he’d never go back. 

He makes a goofy face at Phillip, eliciting a hearty chuckle from the boy. It warms Arnold’s heart to hear his son laugh and he vows to always do his best to keep that laughter coming. He’s about to repeat the process when he hears a car horn honk. Looking up he sees Gerald pulling up to the curb, Phoebe happily sitting shotgun. Giving them a wave, he gets up to greet them. As they say their hellos, Helga comes bounding down the boarding house steps.

“Hey, Pheebs, you ready for a day of dress shopping?”

“Most certainly, I can’t wait to see what you deem acceptable for Winter Ball.”

Arnold is quick to speak up. “Don’t worry, Phoebe, I’ve already promised Dunn that Helga will behave and stay with-in the school’s dress code.”

Helga gives Arnold a sour look. “Aw, you’re no fun Arnoldo. Anyway, thanks for driving, Pheebs, it saves Arnold from having to take Phillip’s car seat out of the Subaru and put it in Gerald’s car.”

“No problem, Helga.” She gives Gerald a kiss on his cheek as Helga does the same to Arnold. “We’ll see you boys in a few hours. Wish us luck.”

“You just remember the dress code!” Arnold yells as the girls pull away and head into traffic.

Xxxxx

Bypassing Budnick’s for a higher end dress shop, Helga and Phoebe peruse one dress display after another, looking for something appropriate enough for chaperone duty. Every time Helga finds a dress she remotely likes, Phoebe finds some fault with it. It’s either too short, or too low cut, or way, way too tight. The annoyance is starting to show on Helga’s face as she hangs her latest find back on the rack.

“Now, Helga, you don’t want a repeat of our last homecoming dance, do you?”

Helga thinks about it, a sly grin spreading on her face. “You have to admit, it would be a little funny to see the look on Dunn’s face, wouldn’t it?”

Phoebe can’t help but chuckle. “Yes, I guess it would, but, you are attending this dance as a role model to all those children. You need to set a good example.”

“Criminy, me, a role model? I know I’m going to screw things up, especially if I have to spend any time dealing with that bitch Amanda.”

The mention of Amanda’s name brings a touch of sadness to Phoebe’s eyes. Seeing this, Helga slaps her forehead with the palm of her hand. “Geeze, I’m sorry, Pheebs, I shouldn’t have brought her up.”

“No, that’s okay, Helga. This woman is a part of Gerald’s and my history now and I need to learn how to talk about it without letting it fluster me. Otherwise she’ll always have a hold over the two of us.”

Helga looks at her friend with admiration, amazed at how strong she is to be able to handle her situation so calmly and rationally. If it were her she knows that she’d go ape shit anytime the woman’s name was even hinted at. 

Dropping the subject, it takes another half an hour of searching before Helga finds what she thinks will be the perfect dress. It has a sweetheart neckline that dips just low enough to be alluring, drawing the eye to the rounded mounds that just peek out over the top. It has little capped sleeves that sit off the shoulder, the back dipping down to reveal only half as much skin as the infamous pink dress of her teenaged years. Sitting right at the curve of her back is a bow, its long ends hang delicately over her firm bottom. It has a tight, princess waistline that flares out to a skirt that swirls about, just a few inches above her knees. The skirt is held out with a couple of layers of tulle that hide underneath. The material is of a light pink chiffon that has glitter running throughout it, allowing the dress to pick up any light that hits it, reflecting it out around her. It’s both feminine and sexy at the same time, with a bit of playfulness about it. She finds a pair of strappy pink heels and with the addition of a matching clutch she’s all set. 

She pays for her items and loads them into the trunk of Gerald’s car. Once they are back on the road they decide they’ve earned themselves a nice lunch out. 

xxxxx

The two women sit across from each other as Helga hungrily scans the lunch menu at the local Burger Shack. Her mouth waters as she tries to decide between French fries or onion rings to go with her double bacon cheeseburger and chocolate shake. Phoebe has settled on a grilled chicken sandwich with a side garden salad and iced tea. She marvels at Helga as she listens to her give her order to the waitress. When the waitress walks away Phoebe can’t help but shake her head.

“I do have to say, Helga, I don’t know how you still manage to do it.”

Helga gives Phoebe a quirk of her eyebrow. “How I manage to do what? Be totally awesome?”

“Well, besides that, how on earth can you eat so much and stay so slim?”

Helga shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know, it must be my metabolism. That plus breastfeeding burns up a lot of calories.”

Phoebe gives Helga a playful wink. “I bet Arnold has a lot to do with helping you burn up those calories too. At least if you guys are still as – how should I say it – lascivious, in certain areas of your life as you used to be?

Helga gives a quick snort of laughter. “Phoebe!”

“What? You know how you guys used to be. How many times were you two late for things because you couldn’t wait until after our double dates to slip in a quickie?”

“Hey, I can’t help it if Mr. Libido has a hard time keeping his hands off of me.”

The two friends share a laugh together as they relax in each other’s company. They’ve missed each other over the last few months that Phoebe has been away at school and are glad that they’ve been able to share in the girl time that they’ve so dearly craved. Looking past her friend’s shoulder, Helga’s expression suddenly does a 180 as she sees a certain someone come walking towards them. Before she has a chance to warn Phoebe, their quiet lunch is interrupted by Amanda.

Amanda spies Helga as she and her friend turn to leave the little restaurant. She notices the woman Helga is sitting with, she’s seen her face somewhere before and thinks to herself that this is someone she definitely has to meet. So instead of heading for the exit she makes a detour towards Helga’s table. 

“Well, well, look who it is.” Amanda says as she reaches the now quiet friends, her eyes riveted on Phoebe, making her uncomfortable.

“Oh, hey, Amanda.” The mention of Amanda’s name causes Phoebe to look up. Helga notices the glare the woman is giving Phoebe and doesn’t like it. Trying to draw Amanda’s attention away from Phoebe Helga keeps talking. “So, what brings you to this side of the neighborhood? Under ware shopping perhaps?”

Momentarily caught off guard by Helga’s remark, Amanda’s head quickly turns in Helga’s direction. The fire in her eyes causing Helga to smirk. It takes a second for her to regain her composure before she speaks. “I didn’t know you took such an interest in other women’s under ware, but, as they say, whatever turns you on.”

She turns her attention now to Phoebe, looking down her nose at her. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Amanda.” 

Being raised to always be polite, no matter the situation, Phoebe answers the man eater. “How do you do, Amanda. I’m……”

She doesn’t know why, but for some reason Helga thinks it better that Amanda does not know Phoebe’s name so she interrupts with the first name that comes to mind. 

“Kiki! This is my friend, Kiki.” Phoebe gives Helga a wide-eyed look.

“Kiki? How quaint. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Kiki. Perhaps we’ll see more of each other sometime soon. As for you, Helga, I assume I’ll be seeing you at Winter Ball?”

“You bet your booty you will, sister.”

“Good, be sure to have Arnold save a dance for me.” With another smirk Amanda turns, leaving her forgotten friend to follow her out of the restaurant. Once she is gone Phoebe turns to Helga.

“Kiki? You named me Kiki?”

“Well it’s the first thing that came to mind. I couldn’t help it.”

“But KIKI??”

“Hey, it’s my favorite anime, I can’t help it if you remind me of the main character.”

Phoebe gives Helga a shake of her head letting her know that all’s okay. “So that was my competition, huh?”

Helga gives Phoebe a wave of her hand. “Pfft, she’s no competition at all, you’re a way better person than her.”

“Yeah, but she certainly is good looking. I could never compete with that.”

“Good looking in a slutty way perhaps. Believe me, Phoebe, if Gerald had been in his right mind, he never would have fallen for her wiles. He wasn’t himself when she came strolling into town, and you just saw what she’s like. She sensed a weakness in him and pounced on it.”

Phoebe turns her gaze from the front door back to Helga. She searches Helga’s eyes for the truth. “Do, do you believe Gerald? Do you honestly believe he won’t try anything like what he did again?”

Helga reaches out, taking Phoebe by the hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Yes, Phoebe, I honestly do.”

Helga tears her gaze from Phoebe as she sees the waitress coming over with their order. “Finally.” Helga says with a hungry smile, “I’m starving!”

xxxxx

Later that evening Amanda lays cuddled up in Travis’s arms as their bodies recover from an over exuberant round of lovemaking. She absentmindedly tangles her fingers in his chest hairs as his hand runs up and down her bare hip. She thinks back to her run in with Helga earlier in the day. She had noticed how eager the woman was to answer for her friend when Amanda inquired as to who she was. She runs over the few conversations she has had with Travis’s sister and tries to remember what she had said about Gerald’s girlfriend. She laughed at the way Helga was trying to cover for her little friend, especially once she realized that the woman was the same one in the picture that Gerald has recently been keeping on his desk of the two of them for all to see. She really doesn’t understand what the man sees in the girl, especially when compared to her. She wonders if the two are together right now, laying as she is with Travis. The thought at first saddens her but it’s not long before the feeling turns to anger. She doesn’t like the thought of Gerald and Phoebe being together and wonders just how long the little bitch is going to be in town.


	63. Chapter 63

It’s hard to believe that It’s already been a week since Christmas as Helga checks all the boarding house rooms, readying them for any friends that might want to spend the night. She’s up in Arnold’s old bedroom now making it especially nice since that’s the room Phoebe and Gerald specifically requested. They said it was because of the skylight over the bed, good for star gazing, you know. But she knows the real reason they want that room is because it’s so far away from all the others which means they don’t need to worry about making too much noise if things start to get “heated”. Helga can’t help but laugh because if she knows Gerald and the rest of the guys, and the way they like to party, there’s no way any of them will return to the boarding house able to do anything but sleep.

The last thing Helga does before leaving the room is take some old pictures of the happy couple from back in their younger years, and set them up in all the cubby holes that surround Arnold’s old bed. Finally satisfied with her work she heads downstairs to check on Phillip. In a few days he will be four months old and she is amazed at the progress he has made in his development. With the constant strengthening of his neck and back muscles, he is now able to sit up with help. His vision has improved to the point that he can see clear across a room, and the little dickens has started to develop quite a sense of humor. One of Arnold’s favorite thing to do now is prop his son up on his lap, making faces at him, and eliciting peals of laughter from the happy child. It warms her heart to watch the two of them, the father son bond growing stronger every day. 

She walks into the family room now where Arnold has placed Phillip face down on a blanket for some “tummy time”. He looks up, excitement beaming from his eyes as he motions Helga over.

“Helga, come here, you’ve got to see this!” He says as he places Phillip on his back, placing the boy’s favorite toy at eye level, just out of reach. “Watch what he can do now!”

Arnold draws Phillip’s attention to the toy, tempting and teasing the child forcing him to try to reach out for it. Phillip struggles with all his might as he throws the arm farthest from the toy across his chest, reaching for it. The first two times he reaches for it his shoulders come completely off the ground and he almost has it before he loses his balance and rolls onto his back. With a grunt he tries once more. This time he doesn’t give up, reaching his arm as far out as he can. His effort is rewarded with him ending up on his belly, toy safely tucked up to his mouth. Completing yet another milestone in his continuing development.

Helga clasps her hands to her chest in excitement. “He’s rolled over!” She yells, as Arnold’s face smiles up at her.

“Yep, our boy is changing fast.”

“No!” Helga says, a forlorn look coming over her face. “Not too fast! He needs to stay my little baby for a while longer. I’m not ready for him to grow up.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Helga, he’s got a lot of baby still left in him. This is just a start.”

“Yeah, a start to him becoming a big kid, and then a teenager, and then an adult, and then……….”

“And then how about we not think that far ahead, you’ll have us my grand-parents age before you know it.”

Realizing he’s right, she changes the subject. “You know, I’m not sure I’m ready to leave him all night at my parent’s house. He’s never been away from me for more than a few hours at a time.”

“Helga, he’ll be fine. He knows his grand-parents and is comfortable with them. Besides, if we’re going to have a house full of intoxicated party goers tonight it will be no place for a baby.”

“Well I don’t plan on becoming intoxicated tonight, and I will be perfectly capable of taking care of my child while you and your buddies sleep it off in bed.”

Arnold lays on his back now, with Phillip propped up on his chest drooling down onto his shirt. “You make us sound like a bunch of drunkards. I highly doubt anyone will get that smashed.”

A memory of Harold and Patty’s wedding comes rushing into Helga’s head. Images of her drunken Lothario having to be practically carried to bed as he mashed the lyrics of at least three love songs into one as he crooned the incoherent mess into her ear. “Riiiight, I only have two words to say to that, ‘Harold’s wedding’.”

Arnold blushes as he pieces together the bits that he remembers from that night. “Don’t worry, with the hangover I had the next morning, I’ve learned my lesson.”

Helga looks at him, the disbelief apparent on her face. “Mmm-hmm, right.” His refusal to respond tells her that not even he believes what he just said. “Maybe I should add barf buckets to the rooms so we don’t have to worry about any of the carpets getting ruined.”

He chuckles at what he thinks was a joke and watches her as she leaves. Turning his attention back to Phillip he blows a raspberry between his lips, delighting his easily amused son.

xxxxx

Smooth jazz comes quietly drifting from the Packard’s radio as they make their way to Helga’s parent’s house. They were surprised when Rhonda’s invitation informed them that the dress code for the evening would be casual, and not like one of the normal hoity-toity affairs she had become known for. Knowing it was going to be a long, late night, they were glad to be wearing comfortable clothing of jeans and t-shirts. As they arrive at the house Helga once again starts verbalizing her doubts.

“I really don’t know about this, Arnold. I don’t know what Phillip is going to do if he wakes up in the middle of the night and not have his mommy there.”

“Come on, Helga, Phillip has been pretty much sleeping through the night for the past couple of weeks now. He’s going to be fine.”

“What if they run out of breast milk? What will he eat?”

“Are you kidding me? You’ve stored up enough milk in anticipation of this night to last him a week. He’s not going to go hungry.”

“Yeah, but you know how he prefers the breast when he goes down for the night, and not a bottle. What if they can’t get him to sleep?”

He gives her a leer out of the side of his eye. “All we men prefer a breast before going down for the night.”

She punches him in his arm. “I’m serious, Arnold.”

He looks at her, rubbing his arm where she hit him. “So am I.” He sees his joking isn’t helping the situation so he changes tactics. He gently runs his fingers down her cheek. “Don’t worry, Helga, Phillip is going to be fine. Your parents are not going to let anything happen to their grandson, and if they need anything we are just a phone call and a short drive away. So come on, try to relax and enjoy the night. Okay?”

Once again he has worked his magic on her and calmed her frazzled nerves. Relaxing at his touch she promises not to worry anymore. She keeps that promise until it’s time to leave her parent’s house. 

“Now I’ve packaged each feeding in individual servings, each one frozen until needed. There’s two already ready to go for tonight just in case he needs a little something extra to calm him. I’ve also added a couple of extra bottles so you don’t run out. You have both our cell phone numbers so don’t hesitate to call us for any, and I mean ANY reason.”

“All right, Helga!” Miriam says for the fourth time as she ushers the two out the door. “Everything’s going to be fine. Just go and enjoy the party and give us a call tomorrow when you’re ready to come get him.”

Helga sits sulking as they head to Gerald’s apartment to grab him and Phoebe on the way to Rhonda’s. Entering the car Gerald notices Helga’s sullen mood. “Soooo, I take it the drop off at grandma and grandpas didn’t go so well?” He enquires. 

Arnold looks at his friend through the rearview mirror. “Everything went fine. Just give her some time. She’ll snap out of it.”

“I hope so.” Gerald says as he rubs his hands together, “Because I’m ready to paaar-tay!”

xxxxx

As they drive up to Rhonda’s house they notice that she has hired on a couple of valets in order to help with the parking. Arnold is hesitant over having someone he doesn’t know sitting behind the wheel of his beloved Packard and decides to park it himself about a block down the street, hoping that’s far enough away to be safe from any drunken partygoers at the end of the night. After walking the short block back to the house they give the doorbell a couple of rings hoping to be heard over the music they can already hear pulsating away from inside. 

They are greeted by a doorman who takes their coats and purses, handing them a check slip to keep with them. As they walk through a set of double doors that separates the rest of the house from the grand entrance, they are surprised at what they see. Instead of the usual formal setting they are greeted by something out of their college days. All the normal furniture has been removed from the large room and replaced with a dance floor. Set up at the head of the dance floor is a DJ who stands surveying his domain that spreads before him as he happily accepts drinks from any lady kind enough to offer one to him.

An adjoining room has been filled with pool tables and old fashioned arcade games ranging from an original Pac Man to a newer virtual reality game that sets two opponents against each other in a ninja battle to the death. They stand and watch as two people they don’t recognize stand side by side, headgear in place, as they swing their arms and legs wildly about as they engage in a gripping battle that is displayed on a screen in front of them for any onlookers that happen to want to watch. There is a beer pong table set up that already has a crowd around it. This is where the bartender is set up, busily filling thirsty guest’s drink orders. 

Moving past the game room they enter the kitchen where a catering company has set their food up buffet style complete with omelet and carving stations. As they head to the back door they find what they are looking for. Lined up in the covered patio area are several beer kegs ready for action. This is where they find their friends, red Solo cups in hand, already a couple of drinks ahead of them. 

They walk up to the familiar group, where Harold fills them each a cup of the frothy beverage which they happily accept. Helga does her best to just nurse the first of her allotted two drink maximum before she has to force herself to switch to something softer. Once everyone’s cups are filled the small group wanders inside hoping to find a couple of open pool tables. With luck on their side they spy two tables that sit side by side and, breaking into two groups, begin a round of single elimination eight ball, where the final winners of each table will square off in a fight to see who will reign supreme as the New Year’s Eve Eight Ball Champion.

Helga does her best to hold her own until the time comes for her to play Arnold. He’s always been just a hair better than her at pool and although she gives it a good fight, she eventually loses to him. With a kiss to show there’s no hard feelings she leaves him to take on his next opponent as she picks up the second of her two beer allotment and fades into the crowd.

Arnold watches as Brainy walks silently up behind her, catching her by surprise when she finally notices him. With matching smiles the two embrace in a hug that, to Arnold’s liking, last just a tad too long. He, like the rest of their friends, is aware of the history between the two, but he trusts Brainy enough to know that he would never try anything to come between him and Helga. So, turning his attention back to the game, he leaves the ex-couple alone. 

xxxxx

His enchantment towards Helga started when they were no more than mere children. As with her attraction to Arnold, his to her was love at first sight. He would spend every waking moment devising ways to be near her, hiding in alleyways, crouching in trashcans. Anything just to hear her voice. When he discovered her secret love for Arnold it broke his heart, but his love for her held steadfast in the hopes that one day her affections would turn to him instead. 

And so went their early years, she chasing after Arnold while he waited in the sidelines, ready to pick up the pieces of her heart once she finally realized he would never love her as she did him. As they grew, and the years continued to pass by with still no returned affections by the one she loved, he began to think that he just might actually have a chance with her. 

It was in the early part of eighth grade when it finally happened. Something had changed in her. It was as if she finally realized that Arnold would never be hers, so she just gave up. No longer did she stalk Arnold as he stalked her, reciting heartfelt soliloquies’ when she thought no one could hear her, to a boy who didn’t even notice her as anything more than a friend. He knew that if there was ever a time for him to make his move this was it. So, gathering all the strength and courage he could, he asked her out. Oh, how his heart soared when she uttered that simple three lettered word. “Yes.” 

He was so very nervous on the night of their first date. He had tried on every item of clothing he owned three times before finally settling on just a normal pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He had grown quite a bit over the last few years, filling out in all the right spots, so he now filled that shirt just fine. Plus, after undergoing surgery to finally fix a deviated septum that plagued him all his life, he no longer wheezed and snorted when he breathed. 

They had settled on dinner and a movie for their date and after a satisfying meal of burgers and fries, they arrived at the movie theatre hand in hand, with big smiles on their faces. This is where Arnold first noticed them. 

After his short lived romance with the new girl in town, he had sworn off girls for a while. It was during this time that he started to notice the absence of Helga. It’s funny that with all the time she had spent right under his nose, it took the act of her NOT being around to make him finally notice her. He was so used to her being a part of his life that when she suddenly wasn’t there it was like a part of him was missing. He found himself actively looking for her whenever he’d walk the hallways of school, or as he walked down the street on his way to Gerald Field. 

Then, one night it happened. He saw her with another guy. Okay, it was just Brainy, but he was still a guy, a competitor for Helga’s affections as far as he was concerned. After that night he found that he really didn’t like all the time they now seemed to be spending together. One night he just happened to be walking past her house when he noticed them, sitting on her front stoop, Brainy’s arm around her shoulders, kissing the very lips that Arnold had recently started dreaming about. This is when he went to Gerald, telling him he had found his soulmate in none other than Helga. Gerald always teased him about it taking Arnold a full year to finally ask Helga out once he realized his feelings for her, but part of that was because of the relationship she had going on with Brainy. 

As time went on Arnold found that he simply couldn’t take it anymore. So he started trying to win her affections away from his competitor. A part of him knew it wasn’t right to try and steal her away from Brainy, but, as they say, all’s fair in love and war. So he did everything he could to win the heart of the woman he finally realized was his one true love, not caring at all about Brainy’s feelings. At first it was simple things, like purposely stopping by her locker just to say hi and ask her about her day. He’d follow her around without her knowing it, never aware of the irony of his actions, the hunted becoming the hunter, but by doing so, he’d discovered all her secret spots she would disappear off to when she wanted to be alone. He always knew where to find her, and he started to just happen to be passing by, slowly making her secret spots theirs. He would use these coincidental meetings as a means to work his way into her heart. Unaware that, technically, he was already there. For even though she was with Brainy, she’d never really stopped loving him. 

Eventually, she began pulling away from Brainy. He knew that he was losing her, and he also knew that there was nothing he could do about it. He figured he had two choices he could make. He could either, 1. Fight for her love, risking her to resent him for trying to come between her and Arnold, or 2. Accept the fact that their love was never really meant to last and let her go while still at least retaining her friendship. He chose the latter, knowing that there was no way he could bare to lose her completely.

And so he stepped back and watched as Helga finally got what she had longed for her whole life. To be with the one she truly loved. It wasn’t easy, but he did his best to be strong around them. It wasn’t until they finally married that he couldn’t take it anymore. He had to get as far away as he could, hoping distance would finally mend his broken heart. So it wasn’t too long after their wedding that he chose to leave town, choosing the East coast for his new home. It was his hope that getting lost in a big city would be just what he needed which is why he chose New York to be that place. Only coming back for special occasions, like the birth of Helga’s first baby and now Rhonda’s big New Year’s celebration.

xxxxx

With each game that Arnold won he was rewarded with an array of colorful Jello shots and a fresh beer. By the time he was ready to face his final opponent and vie for the title of Eight Ball Champion, he was well on his way to feeling no pain. After each round he’d scan the room for Helga, always finding her curled up on the corner couch, still in deep conversation with her ex-boyfriend. As the game went on, he started to find their corner a little too cozy for his liking. In his normal, sober state, he wouldn’t give their conversation a second thought, knowing it was just two friends catching up. But, as each Jello shot entered his bloodstream, his judgement became more and more skewed to the point where he was paying more attention to his wife than to the game. It wasn’t until he heard Gerald call out “Eight ball in the corner pocket” that he realized he had just lost the game. 

Giving Gerald only a half-hearted congratulatory handshake, he started to stumble his way over to where his wife sat. With an over exaggerated wave of his hands, he forces his way between her and Brainy, taking her face in his hands and giving her a huge, sloppy kiss.

“Therrre’ssss the little wo-womannn.” He slurs as Helga wipes his slobber from her face, the taste of cherry Jello in her mouth. Putting a possessive arm around Helga’s shoulders, he turns to Brainy, giving him a half-lidded, drunken smile. “Hey-ya Brrrainy. How, hic, how’s it going man?”

Seeing that he’s overstayed his time with Helga, Brainy gives Arnold a nod of his head and a quick “I’m good, bro.” before getting up and joining a crowd of guys that stand by the pool tables. Helga looks at Arnold, wondering how he’s going to even last until midnight.

Arnold starts to nuzzle Helga’s neck before whispering a little too loudly in her ear. “Hey-ey, bay-bay-baby. Why don’t you and m-me make our w-way upstairs and have a little party of our own?”

“Riiight.” Helga says as she gently nudges him off of her. “What are we, in high school?”

He starts to say something incoherent to her when she notices the group that Brainy joined suddenly turn to look at her and laugh. At first she thinks they’re getting their jollies over a drunk Arnold, but when she notices them looking at Sid’s cell phone, her curiosity gets the better of her. Getting up she walks over to the guys, Arnold trailing after her like a lost puppy. As she approaches them she can hear what sounds like her voice emitting from the phone.

“………. Take tonight for example, its 3 AM and I haven’t had any sleep in, like 21 hours. No sleep! Sleep, sleep, sleep, I don’t know what that is anymore. Oh! And the next thing that goes away is sex. Yep, no sex, nope, not for you! I can’t remember how long it’s been and that’s sad, because my husband, well, my husband,…………”

With horror and shock, she realizes what she’s hearing. It the unfortunate Facebook video that she made right after Phillip was born. Storming up to the guys she looks at the video with unbelieving eyes.

“………My husband is just so …….. so sexy. He’s a Shortman, just like his grandfather…….” She stops to think for a second. “but he’s not very short, as a matter of fact he’s almost 6 ft tall. Come to think of it, I’m a Shortman now too! But I AM short compared to him. So I guess you could say, I’m a Shortman who’s married to a tall man, and my husband is a tall man who’s a ………. Shortman! BUWAAAHAHAHAHA!...........”

“OH MY GOD, SID!!” She yells, grabbing for his phone, but he is too quick for her and holds it just out of reach as the rest of the video plays among shouts of laughter. She notices Gerald in the mix of guys and gives him a glare. He drops his eyes to the ground duly chastised before his shoulders begin to shake as he is taken over by a surge of giggles. Eventually Phoebe comes walking up to the group, curious as to what the commotion is all about. Seeing the video she just shakes her head at the group like a mother scolding her children. 

“How do you even have that video? I deleted it first thing the next morning!” Helga yells.

Sid tries his best to talk through his laughter. “Yeah, but not before I downloaded it and tucked it way in a nice protected file.”

“I will kill you, you have to get rid of that right now!”

“Oh, no.” Sid says, “This one’s going down for posterity.”

She turns to Arnold for help but he’s just chuckling along right with the other guys. Raising her eyes to the Heavens in frustration, Helga stomps her way back over to the couch she and Arnold had just left. Arnold joins her a few moments later, fresh beer in hand.

“C-come on Hel-elga, they were just having some fun. At least yuh-you had all your cuh-clothes on.”

Trying to be a good sport about the whole thing she smiles at Arnold, giving him a quick kiss to his forehead. “You’re right, I guess it could be worse.”

As they sit cuddled together on the couch they are eventually joined by Phoebe and a very drunk Gerald who dons a plastic crown with the words “Eight Ball Champion” printed across it. The two couples pass the next hour in quiet conversation when they notice Rhonda and Nadine passing out party hats and noisemakers to all the guests. Getting up they join the rest of the party as everyone gets ready for the big countdown. 

Party hats on and noisemakers at the ready the crowd counts down the final remaining seconds before the old year fades into the new.

“TEN, NINE!” The friends all look to each other, thankful for the lifetime of friendship that’s been shared by them.

“EIGHT, SEVEN!” Brainy secretly steals a glance at Helga, still wishing he was the one sharing her New Year’s kisses.

“SIX, FIVE!” Gerald gazes at his girlfriend. Even through such a drunken state he realizes his love for her has no end.

“FOUR, THREE!” Phoebe and Helga look at each other, amazed at everything they have been through together and how they would never had made it without their deep friendship.

“TWO, ONE!” Arnold and Helga stare into each other’s eyes, oblivious of the others that surround them, their hearts beating as one.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!” The crowd shouts as one as noisemakers are shaken and horns are blown. The couples share in the first kiss of the new year before turning to their friends in an exchange of hugs and kisses and hearty pats on the back while somewhere in the group a lone voice starts to sing Auld Lang Syne. The rest of the crowd slowly joins in.

xxxxx

An hour later Helga and Phoebe pour their inebriated mates into the back of the Packard, making sure they seatbelt themselves up snugly. Helga makes sure one last time that all their friends know that whomever wants to is welcome to come spend the night at the boarding house. Finally getting in the car herself, she and Phoebe can’t help but laugh at their men as they sit in the back, arms around each other’s shoulders. Helga shoots Phoebe an “Oh Brother” look as the two men converse.

“I ha-ave to tell you, Arnold, my man, I luh-love you buddy.” 

Gerald’s words touch Arnold as he replies back. “I love you too, man. Yuh-you’re my main buh-bro.”

The girls just about lose it when the singing starts. Two very out of tune voices crooning some old song from her parent’s time about how you’re nobody until somebody loves you. 

Eventually they reach the boarding house. Stinky and Lila are already there waiting as the Packard pulls up. Pulling the guys out of the car, they each drag their men up the stairs. They are eventually joined by Patty, Harold and Sid. As the guests get settled in their rooms, Helga drags Arnold into their bedroom where she undresses him. Once she herself is in a nightgown she slides into bed. Arnold follows her, holding himself upright on his knees as he looks down, pointing a finger at her. 

“M-Mrs. Shhhorrrt-man, get rrready, be-because I’m about to ruh-rock your world.” He slurs before falling forward, passing out face down on his pillow.

With a giggle, she turns his head to the side in an effort to help him breathe better and runs her fingers through his disheveled hair. With a loving kiss to his forehead she gives him a smile.

“We’ll just see if you feel the same in the morning.” She says as she turns out the light, falling asleep to Arnold’s gentle snores.


	64. Chapter 64

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To all who have been following this from the beginning, I made a posting error somewhere around chapter 60, and I inadvertently left out a chapter. So if the flow seemed off, that's why. I've since added in the missing chapter so everything should be up to date as of today, March 29th. Anyone reading this after March 29th should be okay. Sorry for the mishap. Please enjoy............

He is surrounded in total blackness. Somewhere deep in his brain a jackhammer chips away at his brain cells one by one. A thin line of light enters the darkness, and intensifies the jarring hits the jackhammer makes and he immediately shuts his eyes tight. He tries to moan, but even that is too much for him to handle, as the Sahara Desert which is his mouth begs for even the smallest drop of life renewing moisture. The faint taste of stale beer and cherry Jello sits on his tongue, threatening to make him gag as the contents of his stomach sits waiting for any excuse to force its way up his esophagus. 

He lays still, not daring to move as he tries once again to open his eyes. He does it a little slower this time, choosing to do it one eye at a time. Slowly the lid of his right eye opens. The vision is blurred, causing him to blink a couple of time to clear it. With no further assaults hitting him, he opens the left one too, resulting in an immediate spin of the room. This time a moan does escape him, his ears picking up the sound of soft laughter as he does so. Slowly he turns his head towards the quiet sniggering, to see a pair of amused blue eyes staring down at him. 

Unamused himself, he lets out a long “Uhhhhhhhhhh.” As he swallows the bile that hits his throat.

She can’t help but to tease him. “Well there’s my party animal. You still ready to rock my world?”

“Oh, God, Helga. It’s not funny.”

“Wellll, I don’t know about that. Things seem pretty amusing from where I sit.”

“Ugh, leave me alone and let me die in peace, will ya.”

“If you’re going to die, make sure you do it into the bucket that’s on the floor by your side of the bed or you’ll be the one scrubbing puke out of the carpet.”

“You’re an evil, evil woman.”

She runs her fingers through his hair, softening up a bit at him. “Okay, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t tease you.”

He looks up at her with watery eyes. “Thank you, I appreciate that.”

Getting out of bed, she slips on a robe and slippers. “I’d better go tend to our guests, and make sure everyone’s alright. Come down when you’re able.” As she heads for the door she smiles and once again can’t help herself as she adds, “I’ll have some warm cherry Jello waiting for you when you do.”

Arnold quickly rolls to his side, grabbing the bucket Helga had set out for him. “You’ll pay for that!” He yells as last night’s dinner comes rushing forward, the faint taste of cherry coming back to haunt him. 

xxxxx

As she walks down the stairs Helga starts to feel a tinge of remorse for teasing Arnold, after all, if it wasn’t for the fact that she was nursing, it very well could have been her laying in that bed this morning, feeling as if she had been hit by a runaway bus. She makes a mental note to be sure to apologize to him when he’s finally able to come downstairs to rejoin the living. Entering the kitchen she finds Phoebe and Lila already working on preparing brunch.

“Good morning ladies, I take it your men are as well off as Arnold is this morning?”

Phoebe hides a chuckle behind her hands, but her twinkling eyes show that Helga has hit the nail on the head. “I know I shouldn’t laugh at Gerald’s pain, but it serves him right for over indulging like he did.”

Lila gives a giggle of her own. “I agree with you ever so much, Phoebe. The idea of grown men acting like college frat boys.”

“Yeah,” Helga says as she pours herself a mug of coffee, “but Arnold and Gerald sure were cute cuddled up together in the back of the Packard last night. I just wish I had taken a picture of them.”

Another giggle escapes Phoebe as she reaches for her phone. “Oh, you don’t have to worry, Helga, luckily I did.” 

Grabbing the phone from Phoebe, all three women can’t help but to laugh at the image that sits before them. There, snuggled up in the back of the Packard sits Gerald, his arm draped lovingly around Arnold’s shoulders as his friend leans in to him, both mouths caught open as they croon softly to each other.

Hearing footsteps coming down the stairs, the three women turn their attention to Patty as she enters the room, followed closely by a sedated Harold. Patty walks over to help with the cooking, grabbing a carton of fresh Peterson Farms eggs from the refrigerator. 

“Ohhh, my head feels like it’s been hit with a wrecking ball.” Harold moans as he takes a seat at the kitchen table.

Helga walks over to the table, placing a bottle of extra strength Advil in the middle of it. “Here, I have a feeling there’s going to be a huge calling for this today. Oh, and thanks for providing the breakfast sausage and bacon for today’s brunch.”

Grabbing the Advil Harold lets out a moan. “UHHHHH, don’t even mention bacon to me!”

“Wilikers, I think bacon is just about one of the worse things you can eat with a hangover like I’ve got.” Stinky says as he and Sid join the group.

Harold passes them the Advil as Helga gives them each a mug of hot, black, coffee. A short while later the group is complete when both Arnold and Gerald come shuffling into the kitchen.

“Ahhh, the love birds finally awaken.” Helga teases, her words eliciting a giggle from Phoebe.

“What are you talking about, Helga?” A disgruntled Gerald replies.

“Oh, never mind.” Helga answers as she and the rest of the group start to laugh, causing Gerald to look down at himself.

“What? What’s so funny, you shouldn’t make fun of a sick man you know, it ain’t cool.”

“Oh, Honey,” Phoebe says as she gives him a kiss on his cheek. “It’s just your hair is all.”

“What? What about my hair?” Gerald reaches a hand up to his head, feeling something hard and plastic. There, still perched on his head in all its glory, sits the championship crown he won in last night’s pool tournament. “Ah, man, not cool to make fun of a brother like that.” He says as he untangles it from his flattened hair.

“And you,” Helga says, looking at Arnold, “How’s the king of Jello shots doing this morning? Feeling any better?”

“I feel like I’ve been chewed up and spit out, but I’ll survive.” He says a bit sheepishly.

“Good!” Helga says, rubbing her hands together as Lila and Patty bring over the food they’ve been cooking, “Now that everyone’s here, let’s eat, I’m starving.” She says amid a chorus of groans from her hungover houseguests.

xxxxx

It took a few pots of coffee and some good wholesome food, but eventually the New Year’s revelers began feeling better. The rest of the morning and part of the afternoon was spent in a shared camaraderie as the friends happily chatted, comfortable in each other’s company. 

It was Sid who first looked at his watch, noticing the time. “Oh Hell, it’s 2:00 already, I told Dawn I’d be at her place around one. She’s going to kill me! I gotta go guys. Thanks again for letting me crash here last night, I had a blast.” And with that he was out the door, running to his SUV.

“Dawn?” Phoebe said to the group. “Who’s Dawn?”

It was Helga who provided the answer. “His latest and greatest.”

“His girlfriend?” Phoebe asked, quirking an eyebrow. “Why wasn’t she at the party last night?”

It was Harold’s turn to speak up now. “She’s a nurse, she had to work the night shift. It doesn’t matter anyway, it’s not going to last.”

“Now why do you say that?” Patty said with a nudge to Harold’s side.

“Owww, that hurt! I said that because the girl’s too good for him and eventually she’s going to realize that and dump him. Besides, they’re polar opposites.”

“Well, you know what they say, opposites attract.” Lila interjected.

“Yeah,” teased Gerald, “Just look at Helga and Arnold!”

At that the group gave a quiet laugh as Helga blushed and Arnold lightly kissed her cheek. “Well I think our differences actually complete us, making us better people.” He said, causing Helga’s cheeks to further redden.

“Well, that’s all fine and dandy.” Stinky said as he stood up, “But Lila and I better get a move on before it gets too late. You and Phoebe want a ride?” He added as he looked at Gerald.

With Gerald and Phoebe accepting Stinky’s offer, it wasn’t long before the boarding house was empty of guests, leaving Arnold and Helga to sit alone, taking in a moment of quiet. Before long Arnold starts to nuzzle Helga’s neck.

“You know,” He says between nibbles, “we haven’t given the new year a proper ring in yet.”

“Don’t blame me, blame the Jello shots.”

Arnold’s stomach clenches a bit. “Ugh, don’t remind me.”

“Besides, we still have an errand to run.”

“What? Today? It’s a holiday, nothing’s open. What errand could we possibly have to do that’s more important than giving the New Year a proper ring in?”

“Uhhh, our son, doi. We still need to pick him up from my parent’s house.”

Arnold slaps the palm of his hand to his forehead. “Phillip! I almost forgot!”

“Heh, you DID forget.” A little softer she says, “Mr. Libido.”

Arnold eyes widen at the name. “What did you just call me?”

“Mr. Libido. It’s my new name for you whenever you let Little Arnold take over the thinking.” She answers as she points to his nether regions.

“Little Arnold? Wow, you’re just one insult after another.” He says, feigning hurt.

Helga can’t help but laugh. “I didn’t mean it like THAT. You’re far from little.”

“I don’t know, it’s going to take more than that to make up for what you just said.”

“Well, whatever the price is, it’ll have to wait until tonight. Now let’s go, our son awaits.”

“Whatever the price. I heard that. That means you have to do whatever I say.”

Helga gives a roll of her eyes. “Oh brother. If it gets you off this couch and into the car then fine, whatever you want.” 

Arnold just smiles as he heads for the garage. Helga sees the look in his eye and worries about what she just got herself into.

xxxxx

Much to Arnold’s chagrin, it would not be a quick in and out pick up when they went to get Phillip. Don’t get him wrong, he loved the new relationship that was beginning to form between Helga and her parents and he wanted nothing more than to see them all as one big happy family. But, he had other things on his mind at the moment and was not happy when Helga accepted her parent’s suggestion that they stay and share dinner with them.

Helga couldn’t wait to see her child and scooped him up the minute they walked through the door. Snuggling him, she showered him with kisses, eliciting happy coos and gurgles from the boy. They all sat together, filling each other in on the previous night’s escapades when Phillip started to push his face into Helga’s chest. A tell-tale sign that he was ready for food. At the sight of Helga preparing to nurse, Bob’s face turned red as he excused himself to go watch a re-run of that morning’s New Year’s parade. Once Bob’s left the room, Arnold swallows a lump that forms in his throat as he watches his wife partially expose one very full, very round breast, offering it to her child. 

“Oh thank God.” Helga says at the relief of lessening the pressure of her over-filled breast. “I thought I was going to explode if Phillip didn’t eat soon.”

Arnold tries his hardest not to think about how good her breast would feel in his mouth as he ran his tongue across a hardened nipple. He feels “Little Arnold” start to respond to the thought and makes the excuse to go keep Bob company in the other room. He quickly gets up and leaves, before his body has time to expose what he’s thinking. 

Finally, after four excruciating hours, the couple arrives back at the boarding house. With Phillip already dressed for bed Helga heads to the nursery for one last feeding before laying him down for the night. As she rocks their son Arnold talks to her from the doorway. 

“You still owe me, you know.”

“Oh, I know, and I knew you wouldn’t let me forget.”

“You agreed to anything.”

“I know what I said.” She hopes the worry doesn’t show in her voice. She can only imagine what he’s got planned.

“Good. I’ll meet you in the bedroom when you’re ready.” He gives her a wink and a smile then heads to their room.

“Oh, Helga,” she thinks to herself, “When are you going to learn to keep your mouth shut?”

Once Phillip is out for the night, she walks into their bedroom where he sits in a chair wearing only his jeans. She looks on the bed, seeing an old schoolgirl uniform, complete with a tight shirt and knee-length socks. The red and yellow plaid of the ultra-short skirt matches that of Arnold’s favorite shirt from back when they were kids. Next to the outfit lies a pair of fluffy pink handcuffs and a black blindfold, along with a few other incidentals from the toy drawer. She rolls her eyes to the ceiling as she wishes she had kept the “Mr. Libido” comment to herself.

“Ugh, not the schoolgirl outfit, I hate the way the top squishes my boobs.”

“Gee, that’s funny.” Arnold says with a smirk, “That’s the exact reason I like it. Remember, you agreed to anything.”

“So I did.” Helga sighs as Arnold sits and watches her put on the uniform. A huge smile plastered on his face.

Once Helga is dressed, Arnold gets up and turns off all the lights but one. Picking up the handcuffs, he walks over to her.

“Just so we’re on the same page, tell me the safe word.”

“Really, Arnold, I hardly think we need a saf……………”

He grabs her by her upper arms, giving her a little shake. He cuts her off with a force-full, “TELL ME!”

“Okay, criminy. It’s football. Happy?”

The smile returns to his face as he holds up the handcuffs. “Perfect.” He says as he hands them to her. Holding his arms out in front of him, he offers her his wrists.

“And make sure they’re nice and tight this time.”

Looking him square in the eye she first places one end on his right wrist and forces it shut, causing him to wince a bit.

“Oh don’t worry.” She says with a smirk, “I will.”


	65. Chapter 65

Morning comes to find Arnold standing under a spray of hot water as it jets out of the shower head. After a long night of rather intense sex, his body feels like jelly and he finds that he has to use the tiled wall that’s in front of him for support as he presses the palms of both hands against it. With the shower head set to pulsate, he relishes the feel as the water massages his soaked scalp and aching shoulders. Turning around, he lets the water work its magic on the kinks in his back. Looking at his wrists, he notices the red welt on the right one and smirks a bit as he rubs it. He can’t be mad at Helga because he did, after all, tell her to make sure the handcuffs were nice and tight. 

He tries to figure out just when in his relationship with Helga did he acquire a taste for the saltier side of sex. He wonders if it was always laying there dormant somewhere deep in his psyche. Because, come on, with all the verbal abuse he took from Helga when they were kids, a normal person would have run for the hills, but not him. He just stood there and took it. 

He always found something exhilarating about Helga’s passion. With how she attacks everything she takes on with a fire and an intensity. Just being around her makes one feel alive. And the fact that she carries it over into the bedroom? Well that’s just the icing on the cake. “Mmmm, cake.” He thinks to himself as he pictures her covered in chocolate frosting. 

Snapping himself out of it he finishes up his shower. Once toweled off he dresses in his ratty old sweats and a t-shirt and heads downstairs to find his wife. “Helll-gaaa.” He yells when he doesn’t find her in the kitchen. “Where are youuuuuu?”

“Stop yelling, I’m in the family room! Criminy.”

He lets the sound of her voice lead him to the family room and finding her sitting on the couch, he plops down next to her. Throwing a leg over her lap, he sits half on, half off of her and gives her an exaggerated wet kiss on her lips before blowing an even wetter raspberry just beneath her ear. Giggling, she pushes him off of her, the act causing him to stick out his bottom lip in a pout.

“What’s got you in such a good mood this morning? And stop looking at me with those puppy dog eyes!”

“Can’t a guy be happy just being in the presence of his gorgeous wife?”

“Gorgeous wife? Okay, what did you do now?”

“Nothing, sheesh. I just think you’re beautiful, that’s all.”

She reaches out, patting him on his knee. “Awww, well, thank you. You’re not so bad looking yourself. Umm, since I have you here, there’s something I do want to talk to you about.”

Noticing a change in her demeanor, he straightens up, becoming a bit more serious himself. “What is it? What’s wrong? Is something wrong?”

“No, criminy, you’re such a worry wart. Nothing’s wrong with me or Phillip, so relax.”

“Well, don’t leave me in suspense, what’s up?”

She takes a deep breath, wondering where to start. “There’s something I been keeping from you, because I wasn’t ready to talk about it. I didn’t want to jinx it, but now that things have finally fallen into place, it’s time to let you in on it.”

“You’ve been keeping secrets from me?”

“Not secrets, plural, just one little one.”

“What could you possibly be keeping a secret from me?” His eyes grow wide. “You’re – you’re not pregnant again are you?”

“What? No, I would tell you right away if I thought I was pregnant. Not that I haven’t thought about it……….”

“You’ve thought about getting pregnant? When? How long has this been going on?”

“It’s not ‘been going on’, it was a passing thought a while back, but that’s not what I want to talk about.”

“Oh, okay, that’s a relief. So then, what is it?”

She reaches for some papers that sit on the coffee table in front of them. She hands him what looks like a rough draft of a book. It’s not very long, only about fifteen pages or so. “What’s this?” He asks as he scans the pages. “Who’s Arlo, and why’s he a koala bear?”

“Well, sometime around the beginning of the second trimester of my pregnancy with Phillip I got the inspiration to try my hand at writing a children’s book.”

“A children’s book? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Like I said, I didn’t want to jinx it. I didn’t know if I’d really be able to come up with something let alone find anyone who’d want to publish it if I did. So I kept it a secret and worked on it here and there when I had time. Then when I was forced to take bed rest I was finally able to really put some effort into it. Once I was happy with it I sent it out to a bunch of different publishers.”

Arnold looks up from the rough draft to Helga eyes. “I bet they all jumped on it.”

“No, not really. Most of them said it didn’t fit in with the normal works they publish. But, I did finally hear back from one publisher who loved the idea. They actually want to publish it.”

“Helga! That’s wonderful!” Putting down the papers he’s holding he pulls her into a tight hug. “So, tell me more about the book.”

“Well, there’s two main characters, Arlo, he’s a mild mannered Koala bear. Friendly, always wanting to help others. His counterpart is a honey badger named Hazel. She’s a bit, umm, outspoken and rambunctious. They go on adventures throughout their little animal neighborhood meeting friends along the way.”

Arnold gives her a raise of an eyebrow. “Arlo and Hazel? Koala and honey Badger? Just who did you pattern these two after?”

“Well – I guess it’s pretty obvious that it’s us.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

“Are you mad?”

“Mad? No, of course not. I think this is wonderful. Is this why you stopped working on your tween romance novel?”

“Yeah, this just sort of took over. Can you imagine, me, a writer of children’s books? I mean, never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d end up writing children’s books.”

“Helga, I see you doing anything you set your heart on, and doing it with as much passion as you do everything else. So when will this go to print?”

“Well, if I sign on with them they want a minimum of four more stories to go along with this one, then they will hook me up with an illustrator to bring the characters to life, then it’s just a matter of getting the first book to print and getting them in stores. Plus, as soon as I sign on they will send me a sign on bonus of $2,000.”

“Are you serious? $2,000? Wow, that couldn’t have come at a better time. That will just about cover the cost of fixing the Packard. That is, if that’s what you want to spend the money on. It is your money from your writing after all.”

“No, Arnold, we’re a team. It’s not my money, it’s our money, and didn’t I tell you things always have a way of working out.”

“Yeah, you did.” He reaches over, grabbing her and pulling her onto his lap. Wrapping his arms around her he holds her close. “And congratulations, I can just see it, first children’s books, then they’ll take your characters and make cartoons, and movies, and put their pictures on lunchboxes and…………..”

“Whoa, hold up there bucko, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, after all, I’m no Dr. Seuss.”

“No, but you ARE Helga Shortman, and you ARE great at whatever you do, so there’s no reason not to think you won’t do an awesome job with this too.”

They sit quietly together, cuddled up on the couch, each lost in their own thoughts. Arnold rests his cheek on her head as he starts to wonder. “Hey, Helga?” He asks softly.

“Yeah, babe?”

“Do you ever regret how things have turned out for you? Or for us?”

She sits up, looking him in the eye. “What? Why would you ask such a thing?”

“Well, it’s just that, when I think about when we were younger, and all the plans you had about traveling the world, and us getting married and honeymooning in Paris and living abroad. Sometimes I worry that I’m stifling you, keeping you from living to your full potential.”

She places her hands to the sides of his face, looking him directly in the eye. “Arnold, we are only going to have this conversation once, then I want you to put those thoughts out of your mind forever. Yes, when I was a kid I did have big dreams of marrying you and traveling the world, visiting all kinds of exotic places, but it wasn’t the traveling that was the important part.”

“It wasn’t? But you always had such a desire to travel that…………”

She places a finger to his lips. “Yes, but what did all those dreams have in common?”

“I don’t know, you wanting to get as far away from Hillwood as possible?”

“No, what they all had in common was you. Wherever I dreamed about going, whatever I dreamed about doing, you were always there in those dreams, right by my side. So don’t you see? As long as I’m with you, I am living my dreams.”

“As long as you’re sure because I did promise you a life filled with adventure and excitement. But then, after Aunt Mitzi passed and my grandparents up and moved to Florida leaving the boarding house to us, suddenly our lives moved in a different direction and I just don’t want you to ever feel like you’ve been short changed."

“Don’t worry, that’s not going to happen. I’m happy here, Arnold. Really, truly happy.”

“Okay, I just needed to hear you say it.” He picks up Helga’s story again and flips through the pages. “Now, tell me more about Arlo and Hazel, and all the adventures you have planned for them.”

Xxxxx

Gerald grabs Phoebe’s suitcase as they leave her parent’s house. The conversation he had with her father the night before runs through his head. 

“You know, Gerald,” Kyo says, giving him a fatherly ‘I don’t approve of what you’re doing’ look. “I can’t say that I’m thrilled with the thought of you and my daughter living together without being married, even if it is only until she flies back to California.”

“I understand, Mr. Heyerdahl, but I really think this will be good for our relationship. It’s hard with her living so far away.”

“This may sound old-fashioned of me, but I don’t understand why you don’t make an honest women of my Phoebe and marry her.”

“I’ve tried. I’ve brought up the topic of marriage more than once, but she’s adamant about waiting until she’s finished with med school.”

Kyo gives a little chuckle. “Ah, yes, stubbornness is a Heyerdahl trait which she does quite strongly possess.”

“Believe me, Mr. Heyerdahl, if it were up to me, we’d be very happily married by now.”

“Well, I guess, considering the circumstances, I can see your point. And I do trust you to do the right thing once the opportunity finally arises.”

Gerald’s mind focuses on Kyo’s words, “I trust you to do the right thing.” Oh if Kyo only knew of the unfortunate choices he had made in regards to a certain auburn haired teacher. He’s not sure he’d ever be able to face Phoebe’s father if word ever got out about just how wrong a thing Gerald was capable of doing. Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, he throws Phoebe’s suitcase into the trunk of his car. Walking to the passenger side door, he opens it for Phoebe, closing it behind her as she buckles up.

“So you’re sure about staying with me for the rest of your trip, right?” He asks as he slides in behind the car’s steering wheel.

“I’m quite positive, Gerald. Why? Are you having second thoughts?”

“No, not at all. I just don’t want this to make things weird between you and your parents.”

“Don’t worry about them, I’m a grown woman, after all. They really have no say in how I live my life anymore.”

“And you won’t feel weird being alone during the days while I’m at work?”

“Gerald, stop worrying about me. This is my home town, I’m quite comfortable here. Plus, I have Helga and Phillip to hang out with, and who knows, maybe she and I can meet you and Arnold at the school for lunch every now and then.”

Gerald thinks about the possibility of Phoebe having a run in with Amanda while at the school, especially if Helga is there too. The corners of his mouth turn up into a small smile and a chuckle escapes him as he thinks to himself, “Now that would be something he could sell tickets to.” 

“You going to let me in on what’s so funny?” Phoebe says, noticing his smile. 

“Oh, uh, nothing, I was just thinking about how great it’s going to be having you at the apartment for the rest of your stay.”

“Yes, I’m looking forward to it myself. It’s just too bad I go back before the school’s Winter Ball. I would have loved to have been able to attend it as your date. I’m sure we’d have a great time.”

“And yet another ticket worthy event.” He thinks to himself. “Oh, we’d have a time alright. I’m almost sure of it.”

Reaching their destination, he carries her suitcase up the three flights of stairs to his apartment. Opening the door, he steps aside, allowing her to enter first. As she enters the living room she is stopped in her tracks as she looks around her. Her heart starts to beat double time as she notices that every bit of available counter space and table top is filled with bouquets of the most beautiful red roses she’s ever seen. Taking a deep breath in her senses are filled with their sweet aroma. She tries to speak but her words come out in a mere whisper. “Oh, Gerald, they’re beautiful.”

He takes her by her shoulders, turning her to face him. “They are not even half as beautiful as you.” He says as his lips slowly meet hers.

Taking her by the hand, he leads her to the bed they will be sharing over the next two weeks, where he can properly welcome her home.


	66. Chapter 66

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Do Not own any rights to the movie “From Here To Eternity”, nor any of the dialog from said movie! Doi.

It’s said that time flies when you’re having fun. This was truly the case in regards to Hillwood High’s two week winter break. Just as Arnold was really starting to relax and enjoy his time off he found himself facing the reality of the Monday Morning Blues. He’s jarred from a particularly vivid dream of him and Helga, holding hands as they run in slow motion down a sandy beach, the waves rumbling in the background. Stumbling in the sand, he falls into the shallow water, pulling her down with him. They roll in the wet sand as the water laps at their bodies in a surreal “From Here to Eternity” type of embrace. As the water washes over their bodies they kiss as soft music plays. Pulling away from him Helga jumps up and runs to a beach towel, throwing herself down onto her back. He looks down at her, the water dripping off his body. Falling to his knees he grabs her in a tight embrace and gives her another impassioned kiss. They break the kiss and she looks up into his eyes. “I never knew it could ever be like this.” She breathes, “Nobody ever kissed me the way you do.” He looks deep into her eyes. “Nobody?” He asks her, wanting so much to believe her. “No, nobody.” She answers to his great joy. 

He opens his mouth to speak, but instead of words, what emits from him is a series of sharp beeps. Helga looks up at him, a confused look begins to form on her face. She reaches her hands up to his shoulders, giving him a shake. “Arnold?” She says as she shakes him. “Arnold? Arnold? Arn…”

“….nold? Will you wake up and turn that blasted alarm off, criminy!”

He opens his eyes, wondering where all the sand and water went. Turning to look at Helga he finally comes to his senses and shuts off his alarm.

“Geeze, Arnold. That must have been some dream you were having.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess it was. It’s kind of hazy though, something about a beach, and waves. And there was this music playing…….”

“Oookayyy, no more double chocolate sundaes for you right before bed. You’d better get up, you don’t want to be late on your first day back to work.”

Arnold grabs his pillow from under his head, placing it on his face. “Mmm mon’t wmummt tmm mmet ump.” He says, his words muffled by the pillow. 

Helga grabs the obstruction off his face and looks down at him. “What did you say?”

“I said, I don’t want to get up.” He pouts.

“Awww.” Helga says as she messes up his hair. “Is somebody cranky? Do you want me to get you one of Phillip’s bottles to help calm you down?”

With a spark in his eye, he grabs her around her torso, pushing her down onto her back. “Forget the bottles, I want the real thing.” He says as he clamps his mouth to her breast through her nightgown.

She giggles as her fingers run through his hair. She starts to feel that familiar stir between her tightly clenched thighs and pulls on his hair, forcing him to look at her face. “You’re going to be late.” She scolds. 

The pout returns to his face as he pushes himself off of her. “Fine. You win this time, but only because I have to get to work.”

Momentarily putting his full weight on her he smashes her into the mattress, rubbing his body on her as he does so. Giggling like a school girl, she does her best to pry him off of her but is unsuccessful. He rubs his nose to hers and rolls to the side, licking her cheek as he does so. Wiping the spit off the side of her face she watches him walk away as her giggles subside. Thanks to him she is now fully awake so she figures she may as well get up and make him breakfast. Grabbing the baby monitor she detours into the bathroom just as Arnold is entering the shower and sits on the closed lid of the toilet, leaning back against the tank.

He sticks his head around the shower curtain, giving her a quizzical look. “You okay?”

She lets out a sigh. “Yeah, I’m alright.”

Pulling his head back behind the curtain, he talks to her as he showers. “Then why are you sitting on the toilet looking all forlorn?”

“Oh, I just wanted to be where you are. I’ve gotten used to you being around. I’m going to miss you today.”

“You can come hide out in my office all day if you want. I’m sure your mom would watch Phillip. You can wear your schoolgirl uniform and we can lock the door and I can ………….. Counsel you.”

She laughs at his suggestion, picturing herself leaned forward across his desk as he “counseled” her. “Oh I can just imagine the type of counseling you’d dish out.”

He smirks as he stands under the shower head, the water washing the soap from his body. Turning off the water he sticks his head out from the curtain again. “You wanna hand me that towel over there, please?”

She gets up, grabbing the towel off the towel rack. “You mean this one?” She says, holding it up for him to see.

“Uh, yeah, that would be the one. Can I have it?”

She starts to hold it out to him and as he reaches for it she pulls it away. “Uh, uh, uh, what’s the magic word?”

“Screw the magic word.” He says as he steps out of the tub. He grabs the towel as he wraps his free arm around her pulling her to him, the water from his body soaking her nightgown. Bending his head forward he gives it a good shake, the water from his hair spraying her in the face.”

“AHHH, Arnold! You’re getting me soaked!” She laughs.

Stepping away from her he wraps the towel around him and starts to dry off. “Well, that’s what you get. Now, git yerself into the kitchen and fetch me my breakfast wench, I’m starving!”

Raising an eyebrow, she stares him down. “Wench?”

“Did I say wench? I meant ‘Darrrling.” He gives her a cheesy grin that she can’t resist.

“You, are something else.” She says as she turns and heads out the door.

xxxxx

He’s surprised at how good a mood he’s in as he drives up to the high school. Seeing Gerald’s car, he pulls up next to it, happy to see that his friend is still inside. He waits by the driver’s side door as Gerald finishes up a phone call. He teases his friend as he steps out of the car.

“Let me guess, that was Phoebe on the phone.”

With a slight blush and a smile Gerald nods his head. “Yeah, she wanted to keep me company as I drove into work so we were on the phone the whole time.”

Happy for his friend, Arnold gives him a pat on his back. “That’s great that you guys are getting along so well, Gerald, I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks, man. I was really worried there for a while that I had totally messed things up with Phoebe, but this just proves how wonderful she is. I really don’t deserve her.”

“You know, Gerald, I’m not sure either of us are good enough for Helga or Phoebe. Not with how truly amazing they are.” He thinks about Helga and the Nancy Spumoni boots.

Gerald nudges Arnold in the side as he looks towards the entrance to the school. Looking up, Arnold sees none other than Amanda as she stands talking to a couple of senior boys. “Talk about the exact opposite of amazing.” Gerald whispers to Arnold.

As they approach, Amanda gives Arnold a wide smile. “Good morning, Arnold, it’s so good to see you after such a long break.” To Gerald she just gives a curt nod of her head, “Mr. Johannsen.”

Raised to be polite, Arnold answers her back cordially. “Good morning, Amanda, it’s good to see you, too.” While Gerald, on the other hand, just gives her a little scowl.

Ignoring Gerald she turns her attention back to Arnold. “I bet you just had a wonderful time celebrating your baby’s very first Christmas. I look forward to hearing all about it.”

“Oh, uh, sure, Amanda. Maybe I’ll catch you later.”

Placing her hand on his shoulder, she gives him a big smile. “Okay, it’s a date then. I’ll see you later.” Turning to Gerald she gives him a raise of her nose as she turns and heads into the building.

“Oh, man, Arnold. Why’d you say you’d see her later? Are you crazy?”

“What was I supposed to say? I couldn’t be rude. Besides, she caught me off guard.”

“Mmm-mm-mm, someday those manners of yours are going to get you in all kinds of trouble.”

As they step into the school they see Amanda walking away from Principal Dunn. Catching the boy’s eyes, he motions for them to come over. 

“Mr. Shortman, Mr. Johannsen, I take it you both had a nice holiday?” The guys give him a nod of their heads. “That’s good to hear. I’d like to see you both in my office after school for a quick meeting in regards to the upcoming Winter Ball. I take it that is okay with you?”

“Um, sure, Principal Dunn.” Gerald says as he glances over to Arnold. “We’ll be there.”

“Good, good. Very well, I will see you then. Good day gentlemen.”

Gerald gives Arnold a roll of his eyes. “Just what I want to be doing this afternoon, sitting in Dunn’s office with Amanda and Travis.”

“Well, hopefully it will be a quick meeting.” The warning bell goes off, signaling for the two friends to be on their way. “I’ll see ya at lunch, Gerald.” 

“Yeah, I’ll see ya, Arnold.”

xxxxx

It’s always hard being back at work after a long break, and by the afternoon Arnold was finding it hard to keep his concentration up. He was considering walking over to the teacher’s lounge for an afternoon coffee when there came a knock at his door. Not having any appointments scheduled on his calendar he gives a curious “Come in?” To the person on the other side of the door. As the door cracks open he sees Amanda’s head peek in.

“Knock, knock.” She says as she slowly opens the door.

“A-Amanda, what a, um, nice surprise.”

She saunters over to his desk, sliding into the chair that sits across from him. “I told you this morning I couldn’t wait to hear all about your holiday, silly.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess you did.”

She fans herself as she looks around his office. “My but it’s awfully warm in here.” She says as she slips her sweater off, placing it on the seat next to her. The top she wears under it looks as if it would actually be more comfortable on her if it were a size or two bigger. 

Ever the gentleman, Arnold pulls his gaze from her overstretched sweater and looks her in her eyes and tries to think of something to say. “I thought you had a class at this hour.”

“Oh, that was last semester. This is my free period now. So, tell me all about your holiday. Did, what’s your son’s name again?”

“It’s Phillip.” Arnold says dryly.

“Oh that’s right, Phillip. How was Phillip’s very first Christmas?”

“Well, I’m sure he had as good a time as any four-month-old could have. He did like looking at the tree lights at night, and the sparkly ornaments made him giggle. So I’d say yeah, he had a really good Christmas.”

“Aw, well that’s nice. I bet you enjoyed being able to spend so much time with him.”

“Yeah, it was great. What about you? How was your Christmas?”

“Oh, it was fine. I went back home to be with family for a few days, then came back to town to spend New Year’s with Travis. Speaking of New Year’s, how was yours? Do anything exciting?”

“Oh, well, our friend, Rhonda, had one of her blow out parties. That was really fun.”

“Rhonda, that’s right, you went to school with Rhonda Lloyd, didn’t you?”

“Uh, yeah, we all did.”

“How exciting to be a guest at a Rhonda Wellington Lloyd party. I bet you had a blast.”

“Well, yeah, from what I remember of it I did. The morning after was a bit rough though.” He smiles as he remembers that particular morning after.

The bell rings, letting Amanda know that she should be on her way. Getting up, she purposely forgets her sweater on the chair and says good-bye to Arnold. “Well, it was great catching up with you. I’ll see you after school in Principal Dunn’s office. Don’t be late.” She gives him a wink before walking out the door.

xxxxx

Arnold didn’t think it was ever going to happen, but eventually the final bell does ring, and with a sigh of relief he gathers up his stuff. As he goes to leave his office he notices Amanda’s sweater on the chair and he wonders just how much of an accident that really was. Eager to get this meeting over with, he heads directly to Dunn’s office. 

When he enters the office he is surprised to find Tonya and a couple of her friends already there. Amanda and Travis are the next to arrive, followed by Gerald. He walks over to Amanda and holds out her sweater.

“Uh, here, Amanda, you left this in my office.” He says a bit shyly as he notices the stares he’s getting from everyone.

Travis glares at him as Amanda takes the sweater. “Just what were you doing with Amanda in your office?” He all but demands.

Not liking his attitude, Arnold replies in kind. “She stopped by, unannounced mind you, to talk about Phillip’s first Christmas. Do you have a problem with that?”

Travis takes a step forward as Arnold subconsciously balls up his fists, holding them at his sides. Seeing this, Gerald steps between the two. “Gentlemen, gentlemen, we have no problems here.” He puts an arm around Arnold’s shoulders, leading him to the other side of the room. None of this going unnoticed by Tonya and Co. 

A few uncomfortable minutes later, Dunn finally enters his office. “Sorry for being late to my own meeting, but I had some business to take care of in the cafeteria. At any rate, as you know, the Winter Ball is fast approaching and I just want to make sure everyone is on the right track as to what is expected of them.” He turns to Tonya and her friends. “I take it all is going well in the area of decorations?”

Tonya nods her head. “Yes sir, everything has been bought, and we and a few others are scheduled to be at the gym early in the morning to decorate. I do have one question, though, Principal Dunn.”

“Well, hopefully I can answer it. What do you need to know?”

“We – we’re still having a DJ coming to play for us, right?”

“Yes, he’s all signed up and ready to go.”

“And he’ll be running music videos up on the big screen as the music plays?”

“Yes, as far as I know he is.”

“Okay, good, we just needed to make sure we knew what was going on.” She glances over to Denise, giving her the slightest of smiles.

Dunn turns his attention to Arnold, holding out a piece of paper for him to take.

“What’s this?” Arnold says as he looks over the paper.

Dunn clears his throat. “It’s a copy of the dress code for all school dances. I would like you to give that to your wife, making sure she follows it.”

A short burst of laughter escapes Gerald. Arnold shoots him an annoyed glance. “Don’t worry, Principal Dunn, she’s already bought her dress and I’ve been assured that it will pass inspection with flying colors.”

“You haven’t seen it?” Dunn questions him.

“Uh, no, not yet. Helga wants it to be a surprise.”

Dunn raises an eyebrow. “I’m trusting you to make sure there will be no ‘surprises’ at this dance Mr. Shortman.”

Arnold gives him a wave of his hands. “Oh no, I can guarantee you that there will be no surprises.”

Tonya chuckles at this, wishing she could say the same.


	67. Chapter 67

He sits in the teacher’s lounge sipping on a mug of coffee. He always hated Wednesdays, just stuck there in the middle of the week. Far enough away from the previous weekend that you’re no longer relaxed and still two long days away from the next. He admits that Mondays are the hardest what with having to drag one’s sorry ass out of bed after a nice weekend. Tuesdays are promising because if you made it past Monday, then you’d probably be okay for the rest of the week. Thursdays hold the promise of Friday and Friday, well, yeah, there’s nothing like T.G.I.F. Sitting here now, though, he’s at least glad that the day is over. 

Things have been feeling a bit strained between him and Amanda since getting back from their long break and he can’t figure out why. Was she getting tired of him? He wonders if Arnold has anything to do with it. He also wonders what he was doing with her sweater a few weeks back. He had finally talked himself into giving Arnold the benefit of the doubt in regards to the whole motel situation, but he couldn’t help finding himself starting to grow suspicious once again. Every time he would bring Arnold’s name up to Amanda she would either become very evasive, or she would get mad and accuse him of not trusting her. He never had any problems with Arnold before. As a matter of fact, he really used to like the guy. If he could just figure out what the deal was with Amanda when it came to Arnold. 

He looks at his watch, wondering where she is. They had made plans to meet right after work for dinner before heading back to his apartment for the night. He can’t believe she’d stand him up again like she did last week. No, there must be a reason for her being late. He decides to give her ten more minutes before texting her to find out where she could be. He fiddles with his phone for a good five minutes before the door to the lounge opens up. With relief washing through him, he smiles as he sees Amanda rush in. He gets up to greet her.

“There you are, I was beginning to feel forgotten.” 

She gives him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, I forgot that I had to meet with the decorating committee to make sure things are on track with this Saturday’s dance.”

He feels a bit guilty for doubting that she’d keep her promise to meet him and gives her a quick hug. “That’s okay, besides, you are definitely worth the wait.”

She gives him a quick peck on the cheek and nods towards the door. “Aw, you’re sweet, but we’d better get going before Dunn catches us and finds some excuse to keep us here.”

Always obedient when it comes to Amanda, he gives her a nod of his head and follows her out of the room. “You’re right, we’d better get out of here. Besides, we don’t want to miss our dinner reservations.”

xxxxx

It’s time for Tonya to make her next payment to Charles for his agreeing to help her out with her little “situation”. She’s made arrangement with her cousin to have dinner at the restaurant she works at in an effort to help cut the cost of the meal. Having arrived at the specified time, Rachel shows Tonya and Charles to their table.

“Order what you want and I’ll apply my family discount to it.” Rachel says as she hands them each a menu.

“Thanks, Cuz.” Tonya says as she takes her menu.

“No problem, I’ll be back with some warm bread in a bit.”

Charles watches Rachel as she walks away, impressed with how well she fills out her waitress uniform. Watching him ogle her cousin, Tonya clears her throat, bringing Charles’s attention back to her.

“Oh, sorry about that.” Charles says with a blush.

“No problem. You know, if you like her, I can try to set you two up.”

“What? Oh, no, no that’s okay. I’m sure she’d think I’m too young for her.”

“She’s not THAT much older than us.”

“Yeah, thanks anyway, but I’ll pass.”

Tonya shakes her head at her friend. “You really need to get over your shyness. You’re really a great guy and I’m sure there’s some girl out there just pining away for you.”

“Riiiiight. Now, she did say anything on the menu, right?”

“Well, yeah, but still go easy, her discount only pays some of the total price. I’m still footing the bill for the rest. So sorry, no lobster.”

“Eh, that’s okay. I don’t like shellfish anyway.”

Charles looks up as Rachel comes over with a basket of warm bread. She places it between the two friends and gives Charles a quick wink before turning and walking to the next booth over. Tonya sees the blush that forms on his cheeks and chuckles.

“What?” He says as his cheeks grow even redder.

“Nothing.” Tonya replies from her side of their booth. Leaning against the back of her seat her eyes make a quick scan of the restaurant. To her surprise she finds Helga and Mr. Shortman just being seated at a table at the other side of the room. Joining them are Mr. Johannsen and a woman whom she figures to be his girlfriend. She moves over to the far end of the booth, leaning against the wall in an effort to stay hidden from the foursome. She is about to scan her menu for dinner ideas when she notices Ms Pearson and Mr. Cooper being led to a booth on the opposite side of the room. She sees the look that comes across her teacher’s face when she notices the four friends that sit oblivious to her entrance. A sly smile plays on Tonya’s face as she thinks to herself, “Oh, this is definitely going to be good.”

xxxxx

Helga sits across from her best friend and just watches as Phoebe’s face lights up every time she turns to look at Gerald. It warms her heart to see her so happy. She’s sad to have to say good-bye to her and can’t believe how fast the past month has flown by. Phoebe catches her eye and gives her a warm smile.

“I’m going to miss you so much, Pheebs. I really wish you didn’t have to go.”

“I know. I’m going to miss all of you.” She places a hand on Gerald’s thigh and gives it a squeeze. “I’m especially going to miss you.” She says as she looks into his eyes.

“Well no one’s going to miss anyone as much as I’m going to miss you.” He says back to her.

“So what time do you fly out again?” Arnold asks.

“It’s tomorrow night at 7:00. Just enough time for Gerald and me to have one last dinner together before he takes me to the airport.”

“When do you think you’ll be able to come back?”

“Probably not until summer break.”

“That long?” Helga says, disappointingly. “What about spring break?

“Turns out we have the same spring break, so I’ll be flying down to California to stay with her for the week.” Gerald says with a huge smile as he gives her a kiss on her cheek.

Helga gives a little pout. “Aw, well that’s good for you two, but I’m going to miss you.”

Phoebe gives her friend a soft smile. “I know, but I’ll be back over the summer break, so we’ll have a good two months to hang out.”

“Wow, just think how old Phillip will be by then. He’ll definitely be at least crawling around, if not walking by then.” Arnold says with just a hint of proud father peeking through.

“Boy, you guys will really have your hands full when he starts walking!” Gerald says as he looks at his friends.

As they continue to engage in light conversation, they don’t notice the glares they are receiving from one, very disgruntled colleague. Amanda sits back in her booth, only half listening to Travis as he talks about what to get for dinner. She wishes she was closer so she could better hear what they are talking about. At one point Gerald lifts his eyes from the group and she quickly hides behind her menu so as not to be seen. All of this, however, does NOT go unnoticed by Tonya, who secretly sits back in her booth, enjoying the show. 

As Gerald scans the restaurant floor he sees what he’s been looking for and gives Arnold an almost imperceptible nod of his head. No sooner does he do this when the table is approached by their waitress. She holds in her hands a bottle of their finest champagne and four fluted glasses. As the glasses are placed before each friend Phoebe and Helga look at each other in confusion. 

“What’s going on?” Phoebe asks the guys as the waitress starts to open the champagne bottle.

Arnold just smiles and gives a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask Gerald?”

Helga gives her husband a suspicious look. “You don’t know, huh? Riiiight.”

Arnold just smiles as he watches the waitress work the cork out of the bottle. After a few seconds the restaurant is filled with a loud “POP!” as the cork works its way free. Without spilling a drop, the waitress fills all four glasses with the bubbly liquid.

“Wow, Geraldo.” Helga says, “You sure know how to give your woman a proper send off.”

“Although your statement is true, that’s not what the champagne is for.” Looking to Phoebe, he takes her hand pulling her to her feet and stares deeply into her eyes. “Phoebe,” he starts, a slight crack in his voice betrays the sincerity in what he is about to say. “I’ve known you practically all my life. Ever since we were small kids my heart has held a fondness for you. As we continued to grow that fondness grew with us. By the time we were teenagers I knew deep down that that fondness had turned to love. We’ve seen every side to each other a couple can, and we’ve shared in good times, as well as bad. But through it all one thing never changed, and that’s our love for each other.”

Helga leans over and whispers quietly into Arnold’s ear. “Did you know about this?”

Instead of answering, Arnold just gives her a quiet “Shhh, you’re missing it.” Causing Helga to turn her attention back to Gerald.

Phoebe stands in stunned silence, one hand is held by Gerald while she holds the other to her lips.

In the background they are watched by the whole restaurant as everyone sits in silence, anxiously awaiting the inevitable question.

Gerald continues to look into Phoebe’s eyes. “I know I haven’t always been the best boyfriend, and I know I’ve made some serious mistakes.”

Amanda cringes as she thinks of herself being called a mistake while Tonya just giggles.

“But I swear to you now, in front of our two best friends and a restaurant full of strangers, that I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to make you happy. If you will only agree to be my wife.”

Phoebe starts to say something but is quickly quieted by Gerald’s hand as he gently places it to her lips.

“I know we’ve discussed marriage before, and I know of your desire to finish med school first, but hear me out. Just because you agree to be my wife, doesn’t mean we have to get married tomorrow. Think of it as a long engagement period. You’ll have two years to make sure you have time to plan the wedding you’ve always dreamed of. Saying yes to me now doesn’t mean we have to rush, but it does make it official. Oh, Phoebe, I’m tired of calling you my girlfriend, I want to start calling you my wife.”

He looks over to Arnold, who hands him a small, velvet box. Taking the box from his friend, he gets down on one knee. He opens the box to reveal a beautiful solitaire diamond on a simple platinum band. It’s quiet and demure in its plainness, but radiant as it shines under the lights of the restaurant. Its unpretentious, yet gorgeous, just like Phoebe herself. 

He takes the ring out of its box and holds it out to Phoebe, tears well up in his eyes as he asks those six words that have the power to change both their lives forever.

“Phoebe Heyerdahl, will you marry me?”

The restaurant takes in one deep breath as a whole as everyone waits for her answer.

Phoebe stares into her lover’s face, the pain and anguish of the last four months or so washed away by the tears that now fall from both their eyes. Barely able to speak, her shoulders shake as she nods her head.

“Yes, Gerald, I’ll marry you.”

Gerald’s head falls forward as he whispers a quiet “Oh, thank God.” So softly that only Phoebe can hear it. As he slips the ring on her finger the restaurant’s patrons let out the breath they have been holding as Arnold and Helga jump up to congratulate the happy couple amid a round of applause from the rest of the restaurant’s guests. 

After a series of hugs and kisses, the four friends sit back down at their table, each lifting a glass in celebration. “To the happy couple!” Arnold shouts as the rims of all four glasses touch. Conversation around the table is animated and carefree as future wedding plans are discussed.

“You and Arnold are going to have to hurry and have another baby.” Phoebe says jokingly. “We already have Phillip as ring bearer, now we need a flower girl.”

“Well, I’m game for working on that!” Arnold says as he leers at his wife.

“Oh hold up there, Bucko, remember, you’re not the one who has to push your big-headed children out your hoo-ha!”

“Please,” Gerald says a bit squeamish, “No talk of anyone pushing anything out of any hoo-has!”

As Amanda sat and watched the first man she had ever had any real feelings for propose to another, she found that she had to fight hard to keep the tears from gathering in her eyes. Her senses needed numbing and they needed numbing now. Calling over the waitress, she tells the woman she would like the strongest drink the bartender knows how to make. When Travis makes the suggestion that they go over to congratulate the happy couple she immediately says no, making the excuse that they should have their privacy on a night like this, and that they should wait until work tomorrow to see if Gerald brings it up.

Tonya looks at Charles, a smile as wide as the Grand Canyon fills her face. Charles returns her look and says, “Well that was unexpected.”

“Yeah, it sure was.” Tonya laughs. “Nothing I like more than dinner and a show.”

xxxxx

Later that night a very drunk, very hurt woman finds solace in the arms of a man who loves her, but will never see any of his love returned. 

Later that night a man and wife come together as one as they use their bodies to show each other just how deep and passionate their love for the other runs. 

And, later that night, two recently reunited lovers plan their future together, vowing to live the rest of their lives for each other, never again letting anything come between them.


	68. Chapter 68

Walking down the hallways of Hillwood High, one can actually feel the excitement in the air as conversations turn to Winter Ball. With only two days left until the big event, students busy themselves with making final preparations. But Winter Ball is not the only topic this morning as Gerald stands surrounded by his fellow colleges, each one ready to offer a hearty congratulations on his recent engagement. Jokes fly in regards to kissing bachelorhood good-bye, or the burdens of his soon to be acquired “Ball and Chain”. Among the small group of revelers is Travis. He shakes Gerald’s hand as he bestows upon him his sincerest congratulations.

Amanda stands unnoticed in the doorway as she watches the spectacle, jealous that the happy smile on Gerald’s face is due to someone other than her. Squaring her shoulders, and putting on her best fake smile, she approaches the group, slipping an arm around Travis’s waist as she sticks a hand out, offering it to Gerald.

“So I hear congratulations are in order.” She says sweetly.

Gerald looks at the outstretched hand and hesitantly takes it as his gaze lifts to Amanda’s face. “Uhh, yeah, I guess they are. Thanks.”

Her hand unconsciously lingers a beat longer than necessary before she pulls it away. “So when’s the big event scheduled to happen?”

Gerald brings a hand to the back of his neck, giving it an embarrassed rub. “Well, not for at least a couple of years. Phoebe wants to finish med school first, then concentrate on the wedding.”

“Two years, huh? A lot can happen in two years.”

Travis gives Amanda a raise of his eyebrows. “Hey, what are you trying to do, jinx the poor guy?”

There’s a slight murmur of awkward laughter from the group as Amanda and Gerald eye each other. “Yeah, well,” Gerald starts, “I ain’t the superstitious type. I’m not worried about any ‘jinxes’ trying to come between me and Phoebe. Our love is solid.”

“Well, I hate to break the party up.” Derek says, slapping Gerald on the back, “but I have a class to prepare for. Best of luck again, Gerald. I’m very happy for you.”

At Derek’s lead the small group disbands, each one headed off to start their day, leaving Travis and Amanda alone in the teacher’s lounge. Travis turns towards Amanda, giving her a puzzled look.

“What was all that about?”

Amanda looks at him innocently. “What was all what about?”

“You and your reply to Gerald. A guy tells you he’s going to be married and all you can say is ‘A lot can happen in two years.’”

“Well, a lot can happen in two years. That’s pretty long for an engagement, don’t you think?”

“No, not at all. Especially since they have other things going on at the same time.”

“I don’t know. Her wanting to defer the wedding for so long, makes me think her heart really isn’t into it.”

Travis gives her a surprised look. “Well do me a favor, and keep those thoughts to yourself. Nobody likes a ‘Debbie Downer’ you know.” 

“I’m not trying to be a downer, I’m just being realistic. But if it makes you happy, my lips are sealed.”

“Good. Well, I’d better get going. See you tonight?”

“Perhaps. I’ve still got a couple of errands to run in preparation for Saturday’s dance. I’ll let you know.”

She walks out the door, running into Arnold as he makes his way to his office. She stops him for a quick hello, then lets her gaze linger on him as he walks down the hall. The look on her face as she watches Arnold does not go unnoticed by Travis. 

xxxxx

Later at afternoon break, Tonya sits across from Charles in the cafeteria as he eats the school lunch she bought him. He talks to her through a mouth full of tater tots. 

“I don’t know if school lunches count towards your payment to me.”

“What do you mean, food is food.”

“I don’t know if you can actually call this food.” He holds up a burnt corn dog before dipping it in some ketchup.

“Okay, tell you what. If all goes well Saturday night, then I’ll buy you TWO more lunches. How’s that?”

“Sounds okay to me, but won’t your boyfriend get jealous?”

“Blake’s not my boyfriend. Not yet at least. We’re just going to the dance together. But after Saturday night, who knows?”

“You planning on showing him a good time after the dance?” Charles gives her a couple of raises of his eyebrows.

“My plans for after the dance are nobody’s business. So, you all set on your end of things?”

“Yeah, everything’s ready to go.” He points his empty corn dog stick at her. “You just be sure to delete all traces of our conversation off your phone once you send me the final text.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not stupid. To be double safe, I’ll even delete your number from my phone until things blow over. Okay?”

“That’s actually a good idea. Think I’ll do the same with yours.”

“Alright then. Next time you hear from me will be go time. I’d better get going.” She gets up to leave then stops to look at him. “Oh, and Charles?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

He gives her a friendly smile, saluting her with a fresh corn dog. “Don’t mention it.”

xxxxx

Helga paces the floor of the family room as she anxiously waits for Arnold to get home. If he doesn’t get there soon she’s sure she’ll just explode from her excitement. She looks out the window for what has to be the tenth time, scanning the street for the Packard. She’s just about ready to text his phone when she sees him pass the boarding house, turning down the small ally towards the garage that sits at the back of the house. 

When she hears the back door open she runs to the kitchen, throwing her arms around him.

“Arnold! You’re finally home. I was dying here waiting for you.”

He smiles as he pushes her back a bit so he can see her face. “Wow, did you miss me that much?”

“No. Well, yeah, sure, but that’s not what I’m excited about. Come on, you’ve got to see this.” She grabs his arm, pulling him with her back to the family room. There’s a large overnight express envelope sitting on the coffee table, a small children’s book rests on top of it. Helga picks the book up, handing it to him. “Look, it’s my book!”

Arnold takes the book from her, scanning the title, reading it out loud. “’Arlo’s Adventures, Hey, that’s cute.”

“See,” Helga says, her face beaming with pride. “It’s a series of “Arlo” books called “Arlo’s Adventures”. This book, book number one, is subtitled “Exploring the Neighborhood”. This is where he meets Hazel for the first time and they go on to become best friends. Do you like the drawings? They hooked me up with a really great artist. I told him what I envisioned throughout the story, page by page, and he made my thoughts come to life!”

“Open it and tell me what you see!” She says while jumping up and down in excitement.

Opening up the book the first thing that hits Arnold is the title page. He reads this out loud, “’Arlo’s Adventures, Exploring the Neighborhood.’ Written by Helga G. Shortman.” He gives Helga a nod as she beams at him. “Illustrated by Kent Underwood.” Under that is all the legal stuff. “Mother Goose Publishing Company, huh? That fits.”

“Right! That’s what I thought too. Keep reading.”

Turning the page again he sees the dedication. “’To Arnold, my soul. You are always in my heart. Love, Helga G. Shortman.’”

He slowly draws his gaze from the printed words to her face. The sparkle in her eyes reflecting the deep love she holds for him. He, himself, starts to become misty eyed at the words he’s just read. “Helga, it’s the inscription from your locket.”

She nods her head, her look becoming serious. “It will be on every book that’s ever printed for all the world to see. Do you like it?”

“Helga, I – I love it.” Placing the book down, he grabs her, pulling her to him. Placing his mouth to hers he gives her a kiss that takes her breath away, causing her knees to buckle. When the kiss finally ends, he cups her face in the palms of his hands, and spends a moment allowing himself to get lost in her eyes.

After a moment she remembers something else. “Oh, yeah, look. It’s the advancement they promised. We can finally make a dent in that car repair bill.”

“You’re sure that’s what you want to spend the money on? You sure you wouldn’t rather buy yourself something fancy?”

She brushes the question off with a wave of her hand. “No, I told you. We’re a team, this money goes towards the Packard.”

“Okay, if you say so.” He picks up the book and holds it out to her. “There’s just one more thing for me to say, then.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“Mrs. Shortman, may I have your autograph?”

xxxxx

Gerald watches Phoebe from across the dinner table as she demurely chews her salad. She picks up her glass of tea, and as she brings it to her lips, the ring she wears picks up the light from the fixture above them, dotting the tablecloth in tiny rainbows. Her eyes catch his over the rim of her glass and she smiles before taking a sip. He continues staring at her, making her a little uncomfortable. 

“Why are you staring at me? Do I have something hanging from my nose?” She asks, hiding her face behind her napkin.

He gives her a little chuckle. “No.”

“Then what is it?”

“I just want to memorize what you look like right now, at this very minute, before having to say our good-byes.” He gives a little sigh. “I really wish you didn’t have to go.”

“I know, Gerald, but it won’t be for long. Spring break will be here before you know it.”

“Yeah, I know, but any time away from you is too much.”

Looking for something a little more upbeat to talk about, Phoebe changes the subject. “At least my dad is finally happy about our engagement.”

“Yeah, it sure feels good to no longer get the ‘Dad Stare’ every time I’m around him. He really wasn’t happy with you staying at my apartment after Christmas. I was seriously beginning to think he didn’t like me.”

“You know it wasn’t you, yourself, Gerald. He would have been like that with any guy that I moved in with before marriage.”

“Well, my parents sure are happy to be gaining you as a daughter. That’s all my mom talked about when I called her earlier today. And Timberly won’t stop talking about being a bridesmaid.”

“Oh, wow, that’s right, we’re going to have to figure out all the bridesmaids and ushers. I really hope Phillip will be able to make it all the way down the aisle without getting distracted when the time comes.”

“Sure he will, he’ll be at least three by the time we get married.”

Looking at his watch, Gerald heaves a sigh. “Well, I guess we’d better get a move on if you’re going to make your flight. You have someone picking you up, right?”

“Yes, Gerald. One of my roommates will be there.”

“Good, I’m not comfortable with you using Uber at night when you’re by yourself.”

They slowly walk hand in hand through the parking lot, trying to make the time last. Once on the highway they sit in silence, each one lost in their thoughts. When they reach the airport Phoebe looks at Gerald as he grabs her hand. He holds her fingers in his, his thumb running over the diamond ring she wears. 

“Phoebe,” he softly says, “I’m so sorry for all the pain I’ve caused you in the past, but you have to know that the past is the past and I will NEVER do anything like that to you again.”

She places the palm of her hand on his cheek. “I know, Gerald, I believe you. So no more dwelling on the past. Let’s make a promise to only look forward towards our future. Okay?”

“Okay.” He whispers as he leans forward, his lips finding hers in a soft kiss.

After dropping her off at the gate he walks back to his car, and waits for her plane to take off. From where he stands he can watch it as it taxis down the runway. Once the plane has lifted off the ground he tracks it until it is just a speck in the sky. Getting back into his car he makes the drive back to his apartment in silence and counts the days until she’ll be in his arms once again.


	69. Chapter 69

Tonya steps off the ladder she was on and takes in the room around her. The Dollar Store decorations and plain white twinkle lights look cheap in the midday sun that glares through the windows, but she knows that come evening, when the lights are turned down, the gym will be transformed into a winter wonderland. It’s amazing what soft lighting can do for a room. 

She looks at the time on her phone and is pleased that they have finished up a full hour ahead of time, giving her ample opportunity for important things like getting her hair and nails done. She already took care of the job of getting her legs waxed a couple of days ago, figuring she’d need the extra time for any redness to settle down. She looks across the gym to where Blake stands with a couple of his friends, her heart rate picking up a bit as multiple post-dance scenarios run through her mind. She’s already made up her mind that, IF he asks her to be his girlfriend tonight, then she will be more than willing to give herself to him in the most intimate of ways. It would be about time, too, since she’s done nothing but dream about being his girlfriend for as long as she can remember. 

She walks over to join her friends who are putting the finishing touches on the long tables that will hold tonight’s drinks and snacks. Denise spreads the last handful of sparkly, snow flaked shaped sequins atop the white tablecloth and takes in her handiwork. 

“There, not too shabby if I do say so myself.” She says more to herself than anyone else.

Nodding her head in approval, Tonya agrees. “Yeah, it will look really good tonight, the sequins will really catch the light. So, you girls ready to head out?”

“I sure am.” Says Heather, “I still need to go pick up that tiara from Budnick’s before getting my hair done.”

Tonya laughs at her friend. “I still can’t believe you’re going to wear that stupid tiara tonight.”

Heather gives her an annoyed look. “It’s not stupid, and it goes perfectly with my dress. Besides, it’s just a small one. Something to add sparkle to my hair.”

“Whatever you say, Heather.” Tonya says as she turns to see Blake approaching her.

“So, Tonya, pick you up at 5:30 for dinner before the dance?”

“Yep, you got the limo all lined up? Remember, our bet included a limo.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t you worry yourself about it. Everyone’s still meeting up at your house, right?”

“Yeah, the girls are all coming over to get ready in just a few hours.”

“Alright. Me and the guys’ll see you ladies then.” He gives her a wink as he and his friends turn and strut out of the gym, trying their best to look cool for their women.

Tonya just smiles as she shakes her head, pleased at the effort Blake is putting forth to impress her. Pulling her gaze away from the boy, she turns back to her friends. “Come on, girls, we’ve got appointments to get to.”

xxxxx

“Arnold!” Helga yells as she enters the boarding house, his black suit flung over her shoulder. She had just returned from Dirty No More Dry Cleaners and was relieved when they told her they were indeed able to get the greasy nacho cheese stain out of the left lapel. “Hey, Arnold, where are you?”

She hears his voice from atop the stairs. “I’m up here trying to put Phillip down for his nap. Quiet it down, will ya?”

Stomping up the stairs she gives both her men a quick kiss on their foreheads. “Here, I’ll trade you.” She says as she holds out his suit.

Handing her Phillip, he takes the suit and looks at it through the flimsy plastic bag that covers it. “Were they able to get the stain out?”

“Yeah, lucky for you. Oh, hey, I bought you a new tie for tonight, along with a handkerchief for your coat pocket. They’re the perfect shade of pink to match my dress.”

“Pink? I don’t want to wear a pink tie. What’s wrong with my red one?”

“Why? You too macho for pink? Besides, the red will clash with my dress. We won’t coordinate.”

“You know, you still haven’t even shown me your dress.”

“I know, I want it to be a surprise.”

“That’s what worries me. Promise me it meets the school’s dress code.”

She sits in the rocker by Phillip’s crib, offering him her breast which he happily takes, rocking her son as she and Arnold talk. “You worry too much. Yes, it meets the school’s dress code. So are we still picking Gerald up on our way to the school?”

“Yeah, I told him to be ready by 6:45.”

“Tell me again why we have to arrive at the place a whole hour before the stupid dance even starts.”

“Because, Dunn wants to make sure all chaperones are in place and ready for duty before the kids start arriving. Plus he wants to make sure everyone knows their job, or something like that.”

“What’s to know? Keep the kids from doing it on the dance floor, and keep an eye out for any alcohol. Doi.”

“Don’t forget watching the door. There’s no in and out privileges. Once a couple leaves they can’t come back in.”

“Wow, way to ruin a good time, sheesh.”

“Now, Helga, you remember what we were like at that age.”

“Yes I do, and since when did we suddenly become our parents? Besides, where there’s a will, there’s a way. We never had any problem duping the chaperones and sneaking off for a little fun time.” She gives him a couple raises of her eyebrows over the words “fun time.”

“Well that was then. We’re responsible adults now. Anyway, I think I’m gonna squeeze in a quick nap before we have to get ready to leave. You can keep me company once Phillip is down. Um, if you want that is.”

“You just go get your rest, grandpa. Then we’ll see just what you’re up for.”

xxxxx

She walks out of the nail salon still wearing the flimsy flip-flops they gave her so she wouldn’t mess up her freshly polished toenails. She wonders if the bright, cherry red polish is too much for a high school dance. She hopes not because she really wants the red accents to go along with her new black dress. 

It’s a lacy number, short enough to catch the eye without breaking any rules. The material has a bit of a stretch to it so it clings to her, accentuating her God given attributes in the appropriate places. The long sleeves are lacy and see-through, and the neckline is modest, showing just enough cleavage to draw the eye in. The black stilettos lengthen her legs, making them appear to go on forever. She’s bought a new necklace just for the occasion. A bright ruby that hangs from a golden chain, and hovers just at the top gap of her cleavage. Matching earrings will dangle from her ears tonight. Flitting about either side of her long neck.

Reaching her car, she slides into the driver’s seat just as her phone starts to ring. Checking the caller id, she notices that it’s Travis. With a bit of a “what now” roll to her eyes, she answers, hoping she sounds cheery enough.

“Hey, handsome. What’s up?”

“Nothing really, I just wanted to touch base with you about tonight. Are you sure you don’t want me to pick you up at your apartment before the dance?”

“Yeah, I still have a few things to take care of before tonight, and I don’t want to hold you up.”

He’s gotten the feeling of a growing distance forming between them over the past couple of days, and it disappoints him to hear that she doesn’t want to arrive at the dance with him. “Well, if you’re sure.”

She picks up on the disappointment in his voice and tries to placate him. “Yes, I’m definitely sure. But don’t worry, I’m still saving most of my dances for you.”

Happy that she still at least plans to hang out with him at the dance, his spirits brighten. “That’s just what I wanted to hear. Alright then, I can’t wait to see you tonight.”

“Me too. See ya, Travis.”

Hanging up, she slowly backs out of her parking spot. She hasn’t decided yet if she’ll be spending the night at his place or not. She’s waiting to see how the evening goes. She thinks of Arnold and how, if she plays her cards right, she can not only ruffle Travis’s feathers, but Helga’s too. 

xxxxx

Arnold paces the hallway at the bottom of the staircase, running his fingers through his, somewhat, tamed hair. He runs a finger around his collar in an effort to try and loosen it a bit. Every time he ties a tie, Helga has to undo his work and tie it herself, always making it too tight. He’s just about ready to yell for her to hurry up when she approaches the top of the stairs. He stops mid pace, and watches as a vision in pink comes floating down the staircase. 

It took her a little longer than normal to get ready, but the time was well spent. Never one for being over the top when it comes to hair and make-up, she had chosen to just put her hair in a simple French knot at the back of her head, leaving feathery tendrils to frame her face and trail down the back of her neck. Her make-up is light, letting her natural beauty be the star. At her throat sits a pink satin choker which has a small gold heart that dangles just above the middle of her collarbone. Her earrings are small heart shaped studs that match the heart which hangs from her choker. Her dress fits as if it was tailor made just for her, the skirt floating around her.

Arnold is at a loss for words as he watches her descend the stairs, his mouth agape in stunned awe. When she reaches the end of the stairs she stands before him and gives a slow twirl, allowing him to fully take her in.

Coming full circle, she looks him in the eye. “So, do I pass inspection?” 

At first all he can do is nod as he fights off the urge to throw her over his shoulder and take her upstairs, but eventually he finds his voice. “Um, yeah, you certainly do. You’re beautiful, Helga.”

A blush flashes across her cheeks as she reaches up to fix his tie. “You clean up quite nicely yourself, there, Bucko.”

Still unable to take his eyes off of her he just gives her a goofy smile and nods his head before blinking a couple of times, bringing himself back to reality. “Well, then, I guess we should go. Your parents have Phillip for the whole night, right?”

“Yeah, since I didn’t know how late we’d be.”

“Good.” He says, giving her a hard stare, “Because it may turn out to be a looong night.”

Picking up on his innuendo, she just smiles as she heads for the door. “We’ll see, you never know what can end up happening on a night like this.”

xxxxx

Charles reclines in the Lay-Z-Boy rocker down in the darkened basement of his parent’s house. He works the black X-Box controller he’s holding as he deftly picks off hungry zombies one by one. He’s well on his way to beating his own personal high score and he is in deep concentration when he hears his mom’s voice shouting down the stairs. “Charles!” She yells.

The abrupt calling of his name surprises him and causes him to miss the final shot that would put him over the top. The momentary hesitation allowing a hidden zombie to attack from the side, ending his life.

Throwing the controller at the TV he responds a little harsher than necessary. “What do you want?”

“Hey, watch your tone with me, boy.” She reprimands as she walks down the stairs.

He softens his voice. “Okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. What do you need?”

“Nothing. Your father and I are getting ready to go out for the night and I just want to make sure you don’t need anything before we leave.”

“No, thank you, I’m fine. You guys just go have fun.”

He’s hoping that to be the end of their conversation, but unfortunately for him he has no such luck. His mom just can’t help but to bring up tonight’s dance. “You know, I really don’t get why you refuse to attend your high school dances. You could have asked that friend of yours, what’s her name again, Tony, Tanya?”

“It’s Tonya, mom.”

“That’s right, Tonya. Such a sweet girl. I don’t see why you couldn’t ask her………..”

“I’ve told you a million times, I hate anything related to that school. And, besides, Tonya and I are just friends. Now will you drop it?”

“Okay, I was just saying. Anyway, you enjoy your little game and we’ll see you later tonight.”

She turns and heads back up the stairs. When he hears the garage door close and the car pull away he heads to the kitchen to warm up some leftover pizza. When it’s finished heating he unplugs his phone from its charger and sticks it in his pocket, taking it and the pizza with him as he heads back downstairs. Picking up the X-Box controller, he sits back down and passes the time as he waits for Tonya’s text.

xxxxx

Tonya sits surrounded by her friends in a large booth at Chez Paris. When she told Blake not to go cheap on her she never expected he and the other guys would actually spring for a restaurant as fancy as this. They sit chatting happily over a dessert of chocolate soufflé, everyone anxious to get to the dance. 

Once dessert is finished the girls excuse themselves to go to the restroom while the guys work on each figuring out their share of the bill. Tonya stands at the sink, refreshing her lipstick. Shifting her eyes to the right, she catches Denise’s gaze staring back at her through the mirror. Turning, she takes Denise by the hand, exiting the restroom, leaving the other girls to finish their business. Standing close, Denise talks softly in her ear.

“So, is everything set?” 

“Yeah, it’s all under control.” Tonya says with a quick nod of her head. “All that’s left is the waiting.”

“How will you know when to do it?”

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll know the right time when I see it, don’t worry. And remember, you know nothing of this.”

“Nothing of what?”

“Good girl.”

Their little talk is interrupted as the other girls come out of the bathroom to join them. By the time they get back to their table, the tab has been settled and the small group makes their way out of the restaurant and into the waiting limo. With the interior lights turned down, and the music turned up, the friends head off for a night they are sure to remember for a long, long time.

 

To Be Continued……


	70. Chapter 70

Amanda is the first of the chaperones to arrive at the school gym. As she enters through the large double doors she is pleasantly surprised at how nice the place looks. Immediately inside the doorway is an arched trellis decorated in tiny white lights and a mixture of crystal snowflakes and white, fabric flowers. She passes under the arch and into the gym. Directly across the entrance, at the very back of the gym is the DJ table, a large movie screen is pulled down in preparation of showing the array of music videos the DJ has lined up to go with that night’s music. To the left of the room sits a long table set up with various beverages and finger snacks. On the other side sits round tables covered in white tablecloths, with centerpieces made from the same fabric flowers and tiny lights that adorn the entryway arch. In a tucked away corner a photo booth is set up where, for a small fee, the guests can have souvenir pictures taken to take home as a reminder of the night. The lights are dimmed just enough to add an air of romance to the room.  
She sees Principal Dunn at the far end of the room talking with the DJ. Upon seeing her, Dunn leaves the DJ to his business and walks over to greet her.

“Ah, Ms Pearson, on time as always.” He says as his eyes do a quick scan of her body. “And I must say, you certainly do look lovely tonight.”

“Why thank you, Principal Dunn.” She says, giving him her sweetest of smiles. 

Their conversation is interrupted by Travis as he makes his way through the gym. His smile brightens as his gaze falls upon Amanda. Dunn greets him with a hearty hello.

“Mr. Cooper, right on time. So good to see you.” He gives his hand a quick shake but then is sidetracked as a few of the PTA parents that also volunteered to chaperone come walking in. As he walks over to greet them he can’t help but think to himself, “Leave it to the Shortman’s to be late.”

A good five minutes later Arnold, Helga and Gerald finally make it to the school. Arnold shakes his head as they quickly walk through the parking lot to the gym. “Oh man, Dunn’s gonna have our heads for being late.” He complains.

“Oh, relax, Arnoldo. What’s he going to do, give you detention come Monday?” Helga scoffs.

Arnold gives her an annoyed look. “No, but he can make my life hell.”

Finally making it to the gym, all eyes turn to them as they enter the darkened room. Helga stands between the two men, the glitter from her dress picking up the soft light and casting it out around her. The pale pink of her dress compliments the natural highlights in her golden hair, her blue eyes shine with anticipated mischief. 

There is no doubt that she is a vision to behold, the proof of such is in the audible catch in Travis’s breath as he turns to look at her. Just by the mere act of entering the room, Helga has taken the spotlight from Amanda and she doesn’t like it. Noticing Travis’s reaction, she glares at Helga doubling up on her desires to finally take the woman down. 

Now that all chaperones are present and accounted for, Dunn has them gather together for his final instructions. Helga notices Travis’s stares and gives him a small nod of her head. Amanda sees this and quickly grabs his hand, bringing his attention back to her. Gerald watches this with a small smirk on his face as Arnold stands listening to Dunn, oblivious to it all. As the clock finally approaches 8:00 the DJ begins playing his music at a moderate decibel, saving the really loud stuff for when the party is in full swing. 

With the PTA parents manning the snack table and photo booth, the four teachers plus Helga prepare to mill about the dance floor as the guests slowly start to trickle in. By 8:45 the dance is in full swing and, to Dunn’s delight, going off without a hitch. 

xxxxx

Helga walks the perimeter of the dance floor, watching to make sure that dancers are keeping things at a respectable level, when she sees Tonya dancing with Blake. She smiles at how cute they look as they gaze into each other’s eyes while they slowly sway to the current song that is playing. It makes her think back to her high school days and she immediately scans the crowd for Arnold. She sees him in an animated conversation between himself, Gerald, and a couple of the senior boys that they’ve played basketball against at City Park. 

With her husband preoccupied, she starts to feel bored when she gets an idea. Walking up to the DJ she requests a certain song from back in the day. It’s the same song that was playing the night of the fateful Homecoming dance. As luck would have it, the DJ did happen to have that particular song in his vast repertoire of music, and happily agrees to play it next. As the slow dance finishes, a very distinct Latin beat begins to play. Recognizing it immediately Arnold looks up and searches the crowd for Helga, wondering just what she could be thinking. Seeing her, he watches as she slowly sways in his direction, following the beat of the music. His face pleads with her to stop whatever it is she has planned for them and is amazed when, without even a glance in his direction, she passes him by. 

Turning his body as his eyes follow her, he sees her stop directly in front of Principal Dunn. She says something to him, causing his eyes to grow wide in shock as he brings his hands up and waves them in front of him. Giving him a small pout he softens and allows her to take his hand and lead him to the dance floor. The crowd parts as if it was the Red Sea and she were Moses leading the faithful into the Promise Land. Once reaching the center of the floor, Dunn drops his authoritative façade and begins to actually lead Helga in a spicy array of twirls and dips, giving her a run for her money, and catching everybody else totally off guard. Halfway through the dance the spectators finally awake from their shocked state and begin cheering them on. Each shout causing Dunn to pick up the pace. By the time the song is over the two stand facing each other, breathless and laughing among a chorus of applause. 

Taking Helga by the hand, Principal Dunn walks her over to where Arnold stands, and thanks her for the dance.

“I do have to say, Pataki, uh I mean Mrs. Shortman, that I don’t know when I’ve had that much fun. Thank you for the dance.”

“Anytime, Principal Dunn, it was just my way to make up for all the grief I gave you when I was attending school here.”

“Well consider yourself forgiven. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I need to sit down for a bit.”

Arnold looks at Helga, shaking his head as he chuckles. “What on earth led you to do that?”

“I don’t know, I just figured the place needed a little shaking up.”

Over on the other side of the gym Amanda was not happy about, for the second time that night, being upstaged by Helga. She had had enough and was ready to start a commotion of her own.

xxxxx

Tonya stands among the other couples, Blake’s arm draped lightly across her shoulders as they take a break from the dance floor. Her eyes scan the room searching out her targets. She’s been keeping a close watch on things as the nights’ progressed, ready to jump into action. She doesn’t know how she knows something is going to take place, but she does. Call it woman’s intuition if you want, but whatever it is, the feeling is strong. She only half listens to what’s being said as she takes a mental roll call.

Up towards the front of the gym she sees Mr. Johanssen talking to the DJ. From the few Disco moves he makes she assumes he’s hoping for a little 70’s retro segment to be played. Moving her eyes counter-clockwise she sees The Shortman’s. They have taken a stolen moment from their duties as chaperones to sneak in a slow dance. She smiles at the look on the couple’s faces as their bodies slowly sway to the music. Continuing her gaze she sees an irritated Ms Pearson walking away from a confused looking Mr. Cooper. She watches Amanda as she walks towards the quiet corner where the photo booth sits. At the beginning of the dance the booth was a hotbed of activity, but as time’s gone on, people have seemed to lose interest in it, leaving it mostly abandoned. Tonya’s curiosity is piqued when Amanda says something to the two parent volunteers who’ve been assigned to photo duty, causing them to happily nod their heads and leave the gym. She feels that familiar nudging at the back of her mind as she places her hand into the pocket of her dress, making sure that her phone is at the ready.

xxxxx

Amanda stands next to Travis, listening to him drone on about what a good dancer Helga is and how surprising it was to see the moves Dunn was actually capable of. She finally can’t take it anymore and lets out a huff. 

“Heh, so what, the girl can dance. I didn’t think it was that spectacular.”

Her outburst causes Travis to give her a questioning look. “Why are you so upset? You’re not jealous of Helga, are you?”

She looks at him with wide eyes. “What? Me jealous of that little tramp? Don’t be ridiculous. Honestly, me jealous of her. I swear, I don’t even see what Arnold finds so intriguing about her.”

“Why do you care about Arnold and his feelings towards his wife?”

Not meaning to have said that last bit out loud, she stammers a bit as she answers him. “Wha-what are you talking about. I-I don’t care about Arnold.”

He holds onto her upper arms, forcing her to face him. “You know what, Amanda? I’ve had just about enough of these games. I’m going to ask you for the last time, and I want a straight answer. What’s this thing you have with Arnold?”

Raising her arms to break the grip he has on her, Amanda gives him a glare as she does her best to keep her voice low. “I’m tired of your continuing nagging over Arnold. If you can’t trust me then maybe we are not right for each other after all. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think it best that we not talk to each other right now.”

Turning on her heel, Amanda walks away, leaving Travis to stand alone, wondering how their conversation had, once again, turned to Arnold. As she makes her way towards the entrance to the gym, she sees the mostly abandoned photo booth and gives a smirk as an idea starts to form in her head. She walks up to the two volunteers, giving them a wide smile.

She nods to each woman as she calls them by name. “Good evening Sharon, Tricia, how have you two been enjoying the evening so far?”

The two women look at each other and give a shrug. “Oh, it’s been okay.” Sharon says. “It’s gone pretty quiet over here though. I think the kids have taken all the pictures they’re going to.”

Amanda gives them a nod. “Yeah, Principal Dunn has noticed too and he sent me over here to tell you both that you don’t have to bother with the booth anymore and to feel free to leave early if you want.”

Hearing that the two friends jump on the offer. “Oh, that’d be great!” Tricia happily says. “The music’s given me a bit of a headache and I could do with leaving early.”

“Well then that just works out perfectly. You ladies have a safe drive home.”

Amanda watches them, waiting until they’ve safely left the gym. Scanning the room, she finds Arnold standing alone and she smiles at her good fortune. She’s not sure where Helga went off to but figures she’d better make her move now before she gets back.

Arnold watches the hallway that leads to the restrooms, waiting for Helga to return, when he feels a tapping on his shoulder. Turning, he finds himself staring into Amanda’s smiling face. “Oh, hey, Amanda. You need something?”

“Yeah, Arnold. It seems the two volunteers that were manning the photo booth had to leave unexpectedly and Dunn wants you and me to take over for them.”

“You and me? Can’t Travis do it, I’m here with Helga.” 

“No, he specifically said he doesn’t want us paired up keeping to ourselves. He said for Helga and Travis to mingle along with Gerald while you and I man the booth.”

Arnold doesn’t really see the sense in Dunn’s logic but figures he is the boss, and Helga just worked her way onto his good side. So, in an effort not to stir up any waters, he follows Amanda over to the photo booth, where they sit quietly and wait for customers that aren’t going to show up.

As they sit in their secluded corner of the gym Amanda finally breaks the silence. “Hey, Arnold, we need to do something to get the kid’s interested in taking pictures again.”

“What do you suggest we do? Go out to the dance floor and drag them over?”

“No, of course not.” They sit quietly for another minute. “Hey, I know. What if you and I took some pictures and showed them to the kids. Maybe we can pique their interest back up. Look, there’s all kinds of props we can use.”

Arnold looks from Amanda to the small enclosure of the booth and shakes his head. “I don’t know, Amanda. I don’t think that’s such a good idea. It’s pretty cramped in there.”

She brushes his concern off with a wave of her hand. “Oh pish posh, it’s not so crowded. Besides, it will only take a minute. What can happen?” She takes him by his hand, pulling him up and into the booth.”

Once inside she pushes him down on the seat and sits next to him. Grabbing a couple of fake mustaches, she pushes the go button and they sit, waiting for the first picture to be taken. The first flash momentarily blinds Arnold, causing him to see sunspots. The next few seconds happen in blur of motion as the camera let’s go with one bright flash after another. He feels Amanda as she hangs on to him, changing position after each flash. When the time comes for the last picture to be taken he feels a pair of hands grab onto the lapels of his jacket, as he is pulled forward, his momentum stopped when he feels a pair of very wet, very red lips press against his.

His eyes fling open wide as he grabs onto her shoulders in an effort to push Amanda off of him. He looks at her, her lipstick is smeared and her hair disheveled. “What are you doing?!” He yells at her.

He tries to push past her but the cramped space makes it hard for him to maneuver around her without putting them in a further compromising position.

“What do you mean what am I doing?” She says as if in shock. “You’re the one that kissed me!”

“What?! I did no such thing. You need to get up right now so we can get out of here.”

“Gladly, and you just wait until Dunn hears about what you just did. How dare you take advantage of me like that.” She says as she exits the booth.

“Oh don’t you dare blame this on me. I should have known you’d have something up your sleeve like this. I should have listened to my gut and never gotten into that booth with you.” Arnold yells as he follows her out.

Having been scanning the dance floor looking for Amanda, Travis looks over to the booth just in time to see Arnold and Amanda come storming out of it. Amanda looks obviously upset, causing him to make his way over to them. 

When Arnold comes out of the booth, he shoots past Amanda, rushing through the gym in an effort to reach Dunn before she does. Not seeing Travis, he is startled when he feels a firm hand grab onto his upper arm, turning him around. Arnold looks up just in time to see a fist coming straight for his face. He dodges in enough time to miss the full force of the blow, causing Travis’s fist to just graze his chin.

Taking a forced step back, Arnold’s hand comes up to his chin as he looks at Travis. “What the Hell, Travis! What did you do that for?” Arnold yells at his crazed opponent. 

“You know exactly why I hit you. I saw you forcing yourself on Amanda back there at the photo booth.”

“What? No, you’ve got that backwards buddy. She’s the one that came on to me!”

“Are you saying you didn’t kiss her? Or do you always go around with red lipstick smeared across your face?”

Arnold wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and looks at the red smudge that has been left there. He turns his eyes to Amanda now. “Why you little Bitch. You planned this didn’t you?”

“What did you call her?” Travis yells as he once again lunges towards Arnold.

This time Arnold is ready for him and he catches Travis’s fist in his hand, grabbing on to it, using the momentum to pull Travis towards him as his free hand disappears into the man’s stomach, causing him to double over.

By this time a small crowd has formed around the feuding chaperones. Seeing this Gerald runs over to the two men, putting himself between them. As she makes her way back from the bathroom, Helga also sees what’s going on and soon joins them.

“What the Hell is going on around here?” Helga yells as she storms over to the group.

Amanda gives her a smug look as she tilts her head towards Arnold. “Oh nothing much, it just seems your husband was looking for a little something to spice up his night when he lured me into the photo booth to take advantage of me.”

Helga looks from Amanda to Arnold. She sees the lipstick smeared on his lips. He looks back at her with wide eyes as he shakes his head no, praying for Helga not to believe her. Helga sees the look on his face and he knows that he has nothing to worry about when the corners of her mouth start to turn up into a smile. Holding her stomach, Helga begins to laugh.

“Oh, Amanda.” She says between fits of giggles. “You can’t possibly think that I’m going to believe anything that comes out of your lying mouth.” 

Furious, Amanda’s words become filled with venom as she talks. “Oh, you can believe it or not, but the evidence is there on his face for all to see. Face it, Helga, Arnold never really loved you, and who would? How could anyone love a bully like you? The only reason you even had any friends when you were in school was because they were scared of you. And Arnold? Well he just felt sorry for you, but you can’t build a lasting relationship on pity, can you?”

In all of her born days, Helga cannot think of a time that she’s ever been madder than she is right now. She looks at Amanda with murder in her eyes, her words come out in a growl. “Why you little Whore!” She yells as she leaps towards Amanda ready to draw blood. She’s stopped in mid-air as an arm reaches out, catching her at the waist. 

“Let me go!” She yells, kicking her legs as her arms flail out in front of her. But Gerald holds on tight, saving Amanda from being mauled.

By now a crowd has formed around the small group and before long Principal Dunn pushes his way through. “I demand to know just what’s going on here!” He bellows.

Stepping away from the crowd, Tonya quietly slips her phone out of her pocket, sending the text that Charles has been spending his evening waiting for. After deleting all evidence off her phone, she quietly takes her place back by Blake’s side.

Hearing the familiar ding of Tonya’s incoming text, Charles puts the game he has been playing on pause as he heads up to the computer that sits waiting in his bedroom. Sitting down he moves the mouse, bringing the computer out of hibernation. After a few quick clicks, he smiles at the exhilaration he gets after completing one of his little covert deeds. He only wishes he could be a fly on the gym’s wall so he could witness the fruits of his labor. With nothing left for him to do, he turns the machine off and heads back downstairs to finish his game.

xxxxx

Gerald gently loosens his grip on Helga but the minute her feet hit the ground she starts to lunge at Amanda once again. This time he steps in-between the two women while keeping an eye on Arnold and Travis. It’s Amanda that speaks up, answering Dunn’s question.

“This is Arnold’s fault Principal Dunn. He trapped me in the photo booth then made a pass at me.”

“That’s not true, she’s the one that threw herself at me!” Arnold yells, trying to clear his name.

“Oh, come on, Amanda. Arnold would never do anything like that. Everyone here knows that.” Gerald says, coming to his friend’s aide. 

Amanda gives him the look of a woman scorned. “Of course you would say that, you two are as thick as thieves.”

“I believe her.” Travis speaks up. “I saw them coming out of the photo booth. Amanda was clearly shook up when she came out.”

“That’s circumstantial evidence.” Gerald says. “Were you actually there inside the booth with them?”

“I didn’t need to be to know that something had been going on. Besides, why would Amanda make up a story like that?”

At that very moment the music that has been coming out of the DJ’s speakers falters and is replaced with the ear piercing sound of feedback as the video that’s playing on the screen behind him starts to flicker and skip. The irritating sound causes everyone to cover their ears and turn towards the front of the gym. The video that was playing is now replaced by numbers that flash and as they start counting down from ten a robotic voice comes booming over the speakers.

“This is not a test. We would like to take this moment to interrupt your regularly scheduled programing to bring you this special announcement. Again, this is not a test…….”

With another flash of light the profile of a well-known, auburn haired teacher plays across the screen. The gym grows quiet as her voice rings in loud and clear……

“…..Oh yeah, you’d better believe I’m not done with him. I have a plan to get back at him by using that chick I told you about……. All I really know about her is she’s the wife of another teacher at Hillwood. I told you about him, no, his name is Arnold, remember, the hunk with the blonde hair and gorgeous green eyes? Yeah, him. Ha, yeah, and get this, her name is Helll-Gaaa. Who names their child Helga? Sounds like a character straight out of the story Heidi. Yeah, she’s his girlfriend’s best friend.”

All eyes turn to Amanda now as she stares at the screen.

“…….Hopefully I’ll get the information I want. That guy I’ve been seeing, Travis, well apparently his sister went all through school with Helga so I’m hoping to pump her for useful information. Yeah, I’m meeting Travis right now for lunch. By the time we’re done eating I’m hoping to have his sister’s number. Yeah, I’m going to use the excuse that I want to get to know her better since I’m dating her brother, you know, play it as wanting to get to know the family and stuff. Yeah, and if I can’t get anything good on Helga well then I’m just going to have to continue going after Arnold himself.”

The DJ stands at his station, frantically hitting the keys on his computer trying to stop the offending video but it is useless. The system is totally out of his control and all he can do is look at Dunn, giving him a shrug of his shoulders as the video finishes.

“……I told you why I’m doing this, if Gerald thinks he can just use me then throw me aside he’s got another thing coming to him. I can’t directly mess with his girlfriend, but I can mess with those closest to him. And if things work out like I think they should, his girlfriend will blame him causing an even deeper riff between them. Oh, hey, here comes Travis now, I have to go. Yeah, okay, I’ll let you know how it goes. Okay, bye.”

As the video comes to an end images once again flicker across the screen as the robotic voice from before speaks up. 

“We now return you to your regularly scheduled programing.”

Time stands still as everyone stands in stunned silence. Helga scans the room until her eyes lock onto Tonya’s. With a raise of her eyebrows, her question is answered by an almost imperceptible nod of Tonya’s head. Travis stands staring down At Amanda. As she lifts her eyes to his you can almost hear the crack as his heart breaks in two. Too stunned to speak, words escape him, and it won’t be until later tonight as he lays alone in his bed, that the first of many tears will wet his pillow.

Amanda looks around the room as she slowly starts to shake her head. She whispers a quiet “No.” As she starts to back away. She catches Helga’s eye and sees the smirk that sits on her face. Looking Amanda directly in the eye she gives her a quiet, “Check, and Mate.” 

It’s at this point that Amanda’s survival instincts kick in and she slowly starts to leave the gym, the tap, tap, tap of her stilettos the only sound that is heard. The tapping starts off slow, but picks up speed as her walk becomes a run.

Trying to save the night, Dunn motions for the DJ to resume the music as he apologizes to the students for the unauthorized interruption to their night. Turning to his teachers he gives them a stern, “I will see you all in my office first thing Monday morning. That includes you, too, Miss Pataki!”

It’s at this point that Gerald races across the gym floor, disappearing through the doors. He catches up to Amanda in the school’s parking lot. Grabbing her by her arms, he turns her towards him. She casts her eyes downward, unable to look at his face. Giving her a little shake, he tries to make sense of what just happened.

“Why? Why would you do all this just to get back at me? Are you that petty of a person?”

Anger slowly starts to build within her, allowing her to finally be able to look him in his eyes. “Why?” She says, her words coming out hard and cold. “You want to know why I did what I did? Okay, I’ll tell you. Because I loved you, Gerald.”

Her answer catches him off guard, confusing him even more. “What? You, you loved me? But. But we were only together for a couple of months. How can you say you loved me?”

“I don’t know, Gerald, I just did. You can’t control how or when love will strike. You came on to me and there was just something about you. Your words, your touch, your kisses. It touched something deep inside of me. I experienced feelings that I’ve never felt before. And then………. Then you took it all away. Just like that, with no warning. Just, boom. You tell me you have a fiancée and that you never really had any feelings for me.”

For the first time Gerald sees things through Amanda’s eyes. Not once has he given her feelings a second thought. He reaches out to her now in an effort to show how sorry he is. “Oh, Amanda, I had no idea……….”

She hits his hand away. “Save it, Gerald. What’s done is done.”

Although he feels bad for hurting her, he can’t help but to still defend his friends. “Regardless of my stupidity, you had no right to drag my friends into this, or to use Travis the way you did.”

“Well, I guess we’ve both done things we shouldn’t have. Besides, your friends are big boys and girls, they’ll get over it.”

“I’m sure Arnold and Helga will, but what about Travis. He didn’t deserve to be put through all this.”

“Yes, well, you can’t have a war without at least a few casualties now can you? Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve had about enough for one night. I’m sure your friends are wondering what happened to you, so go to them, and to that cute little fiancée of yours, and have your happily ever after.”

“What about you? What are you going to do now?”

“Heh, don’t you go worrying yourself about me. I’m a big girl. It will take more than the likes of you to keep me down for long. Good-bye, Gerald.”

He watches her as she turns and walks away. “Good-bye, Amanda.”

He waits until she’s driven out of the parking lot before heading back to the dance. Once inside, he sees Travis sitting alone at one of the tables, his head in his hands. Walking up to him, he puts his hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Travis looks up at him, his face a blank slate. Gerald sits down next to him and without saying a word the two men just sit, each one lost to his own thoughts.


	71. Chapter 71

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After these next two chapters we’ll be taking a break from the drama and will get back to the calmer slice of life stuff for a while. After all, don’t you think the Shortman’s deserve a bit of calm before the next storm? (which I’m in the middle of working on right now.) Besides, it’s time for me to get back to what I do best, so just sit back and enjoy some nice upcoming Shortaki fluff as we work our way through springtime, with maybe a surprise or two just to keep things interesting.
> 
> To those of you that have been faithfully following this story, I want to thank you for your continued support. I do hope you have been enjoying it.

Arnold stands shell shocked as he watches his best friend disappear through the gym’s doors. Behind him he hears Principal Dunn doing his best to coax the students back onto the dance floor as the music begins playing once more. He turns to Helga who watches Travis as he slowly walks over to an empty table and sits down. After a minute she turns her gaze to Arnold. He looks into her sapphire eyes as he slowly shakes his head.

“What in the hell just happened here?” He says, not really expecting an answer.

“I have no clue, but if I were you, I’d brace yourself.” She answers as she notices Dunn making a beeline towards them.

Walking between the couple, he grabs them both by their elbows and drags them towards the quiet corner where the abandoned photo booth sits. His face is beet red as he does his best to control his temper. Once alone in the secluded corner, he begins to question them.

“What just happened here? Who’s responsible for this? Did you have anything to do with this Pataki?”

“No, I had absolutely nothing to do with that video, and the name’s Shortman now, remember?”

It’s Arnold’s turn to field his questions now. “What about you, Mr. Shortman? What do you know about this?”

“I know as much as you do, Sir.”

“Neither of you have any idea as to who would do such a thing?”

Arnold and Helga look at each other, giving their shoulders a shrug. “No, Principal Dunn.” Helga insists, “Neither of us know anything about this, I swear.” She mentally crosses her fingers, giving herself immunity from her little white lie.

“Well somebody is responsible and I won’t rest until I find out who that person is.” He scans the gym floor as he talks. “Do either of you know where Mr. Johanssen went off to?”

The couple look at each other, neither one willing to tell Principal Dunn where Gerald went. Knowing Arnold’s aversion to lying, she does the talking. “No, Sir, we don’t know where he ran off to.”

Not really believing them, Dunn gives them a frustrated look. “Oh, alright. Well, you just remember what I said earlier, I want to see both of you in my office a half an hour before first bell on Monday.”

Helga starts to protest. “Why me? I’m not one of your teachers, and besides, I have a baby at home to worry about. There’s no need for me to have to bri…………..”

Dunn points a finger at Helga. “You are just as involved in this as everyone else. You can bring your baby with you if you want to, or leave him with a sitter. Either way, I don’t care, but if your husband wants to keep his job, I suggest you both be in my office on Monday! Now, I need to talk to Mr. Cooper and see what he knows about this.”

They both watch Dunn as he makes his way over to Travis. After a short conversation he leaves the man as he found him, sitting alone with his head in his hands. 

Arnold looks at the photo booth, noticing the strip of photos that were taken when he and Amanda were sitting inside of it. Picking the strip up, he takes a look at the pictures. The first shot shows a smiling Amanda as she sits next to Arnold, his eyes shut tight from the blinding flash that he was careless enough to look into. The next two pictures show Amanda in cheesy poses next to him, arms around his shoulders, as he sits there trying to blink the flash spots out of his eyes. The final photo in the strip shows a wide-eyed Arnold, his hands on Amanda’s shoulders as if he’s holding onto her while her hands lay pressed against his chest as if she’s doing her best to push him away while his lips sit plastered to hers. To someone not knowing what went on inside the photo booth, the picture comes off as quite compromising.

Helga peers over his shoulder shaking her head as she looks at the photos. “So, which one of us is the better kisser?” She asks.

Arnold gives her an annoyed look. “Don’t even joke about it. If that video hadn’t of suddenly appeared out of nowhere, this could have been a very incriminating photo.”

She grabs the photo of him and Amanda, folding it and tucking it safely away in her strapless bra. “Well it’s in a safe place now where the only two people that have access to it are me and you. So quit stressing over it.”

“I don’t know, Helga. I just can’t help but worry about it. If she should mention those pictures Monday morning in Dunn’s office I won’t know what to say.”

“What you’ll say is ‘What pictures?’ and it will be your word against hers.”

“But that will be a lie.”

“Well, doi, but sometimes that’s what you have to do for the better good of things. Look, the only one to see you come out of the booth was Travis and even so, he didn’t see where you were until after the pictures were taken.”

“But what if one of the kids saw us?”

“Arnoldo, you are very well liked around here. I highly doubt any of them would rat you out, besides, once again it would just be their word against yours. Stop over thinking this. What we should be more concerned about is Travis. He’s the real victim in all of this.”

Arnold looks over to where Travis sits and notices as Gerald walks up to him. He turns back to Helga, a look of sad concern in his eyes. “You know something, you’re right, the poor guy didn’t deserve any of this.”

Placing a hand on Arnold’s shoulder, Helga gives it a light squeeze. “None of us did. Come on, we’d better get back to the dance before Dunn comes looking for us.”

xxxxx

Gerald watches as Amanda’s car leaves the parking lot. He stands in the cold night air, breathing deeply in an effort to clear his head. Amanda’s words run through his mind. How could he have not realized her feelings for him? The thought of so many people’s lives being turned upside-down over his recklessness causes his stomach to churn. He needs to talk to Travis and apologize for the trouble he’s caused. And his main man, Arnold, that man did not deserve to be harassed like he was, nor Helga for that matter. He wonders what Phoebe is going to have to say when she hears about what went on tonight. He’ll have to be the one to tell her what with his promise to her of no more secrets. 

With one last deep breath, he turns back towards the gym. As he walks through the doors he is glad to see that Dunn has been successful in getting the dance back on track. He cringes at the thought of having to deal with the man over this. He knows it’s inevitable and readies himself for it. Scanning the room, he wonders where Arnold and Helga have gone off to when he sees Travis sitting alone at one of the tables. Walking over to him he is at a loss for words so he just silently sits beside him. He eventually feels like he needs to say something to try and console the guy so he blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

“This has been some crazy night, huh?”

Travis turns his gaze towards Gerald, giving him a bewildered look. “I don’t even know how to process this right now.” His voice is full of hurt.

“I’m really sorry, Travis. I take full responsibility for Amanda going off the deep end like that.”

“You know, I’ve been sitting here running the last few months through my head. In all the time Amanda and I were together, I don’t think she ever actually said she loved me. I told her plenty of times, and by her actions she led me to believe she felt the same way. But I can’t recall her ever actually saying the words.”

“I was selfish, Travis. I guess I kind of used her to make myself feel better without taking her feelings into consideration. I’m sorry, man. I never meant for things to get so out of hand.”

“Regardless of what she’s done, it was pretty low of you to use her like that, and once this has all fully sunk in I will probably be really pissed at you. But as for right now, consider yourself lucky that I don’t pound you into the ground. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a job to get back to.”

Travis slowly gets up and without another word he walks away, leaving Gerald feeling even lower than he was before. 

xxxxx

Taking a break from the dance floor, Tonya and her group of friends sit together at one of the round tables. The topic of conversation, of course, turns to Ms Pearson and the suspicious timing of her incriminating video.

“It obviously was an inside job.” Blake says to the agreement of the other guys. “The only question is, how could someone that was here, at the dance, do something like that without being seen? I mean, you’d need to actually be on a computer to do that, right?”

Denise’s date, Roger, is quick to speculate. “I don’t know, maybe whoever it was has some sort of program on their phone or something?” 

Feeling a bit nervous over the topic of conversation, Tonya gets up to excuse herself to the bathroom, her eyes darting from one girl to another. Picking up on her silent que, they each get up to join her. “Well, while you guys sit and play ‘Purdy Boys’ the girls and I are off to powder our noses.” 

Once inside the bathroom Tonya quickly checks each stall, making sure they are alone. She then turns to Denise. “Watch the door, will ya, and give a signal if you see anyone come in.”

“You got it, boss.” Denise replies as she goes to linger by the bathroom door.

“That was you, wasn’t it?” Heather says, stating what’s on the other girl’s minds.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and neither do any of you, right?”

Heather gives her a knowing nod of her head. “Right, I don’t know what I was thinking. How would any of us know anything about what just happened.” 

“I do feel sorry for Mr. Cooper, though.” Gina says. “Did you see the sadness in his eyes when he looked at Ms Pearson? I just about wanted to cry.”

“I know.” Said Abby. “It was just heartbreaking.”

“That’s why she needed to be taken down.” Tonya says, an air of righteousness surrounding her. “That bitch was nothing but trouble.”

“I wonder what’s going to happen on Monday. Do you think she’ll have the gall to show her face at school?” Gina says, looking at Tonya.

“I doubt it.” Tonya replies. “Not with the whole school now judging her. Anyway, whether she shows up or not, you all just remember, you know absolutely nothing about what happened tonight.”

As the other girls nod their heads in agreement they hear Denise as she calls out Tonya’s name. “Hey, Tonya, you in here? Your boyfriend’s looking for you.”

Hearing the warning signal that someone is approaching, the girls check their reflections one last time in the mirror before heading back to their dates.

xxxxx

As the last of the students trickle out of the gym the DJ finishes packing up his equipment. In an effort to save the guy from making multiple trips to his car Arnold and Gerald offer to lend him a hand. With their arms full, they follow him out to his car. Opening the car’s trunk, he begins to loading it up.

He looks at Arnold as he takes one of his cases from him. “I have to say, of all the gigs I’ve ever played around this town, this was certainly one of the strangest.” 

Arnold gives him a small smile. “Heh, yeah, things sure did take an unexpected turn.”

“Unexpected doesn’t even begin to describe it. I don’t know who that Gerald guy is she was talking about in that video, but I gotta say, I’d hate to be him right now. She sounded like a lady out for blood.”

Arnold shoots Gerald a look before responding to the DJ. “Oh, I don’t think we’ll be hearing much from her anymore. That was a pretty humiliating thing for her to have to go through.”

“Ohhh, I don’t know. You know what they say about a woman scorned. Anyway, I’m outta here. Thanks for the help.”

As they turn to walk back to the gym Gerald questions Arnold. “Do you really believe what you just said about not hearing anymore from Amanda?”

Arnold thinks of the picture strip that sits in Helga’s bra. “I sure do hope so, Gerald.”

xxxxx

The atmosphere in the Packard is pretty sedate as they head towards Gerald’s apartment. Arnold still wears a worried look as he grips the steering wheel a little tighter than necessary. Helga picks up on his stress and tries once again to ease his worry.

“Come on Arnoldo, you’re going to give yourself as heart attack if you don’t calm down.”

“I can’t help it, Helga. I just can’t stop worrying about those pictures.”

“What pictures?” Gerald asks from the back seat.

Arnold starts to reply but Helga is quick to cut him off. “Pictures? I don’t know what you’re talking about, Arnold. I don’t know anything about any pictures.”

“Helga………..”

“What pictures?” Gerald asks once again.

Helga looks at Arnold narrowing her eyes. “Yeah, what pictures?”

Frustrated, Arnold just shakes his head. “Nothing, Gerald. There are no pictures. Forget I said anything.”

Helga gives him a smirk. “Atta boy, Arnoldo.”

Giving up, Gerald just leans back in his seat. “You two can be really weird at times, you know that?”

Helga turns around to look at him. “Aw, we’re sorry, Geraldo, it’s just that sometimes the less you know about something, the better. Capisce?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I capisce. There are no pictures.”

“Right. Hey, are you sure you wouldn’t like some company tonight? You’re welcome to stay at the boarding house.”

“Naw, I appreciate the offer, but I think I need to be alone with my thoughts. Besides, I think I’m going to give Phoebe a call to let her know what went on tonight. I don’t think it’s something that should wait.”

“Yeah,” Arnold agrees, “I think that’s a good idea too.”

xxxxx

Once they’ve dropped Gerald off, the rest of the short ride home is spent in peace as they let the soft jazz that comes through the car’s radio relax them. When they enter the darkened house, Helga kicks off her shoes as she walks over to the stove, turning on one of the burners. Reaching into her bra, she pulls out the strip of pictures, holding the bottom edge to the flame. Once ignited, she turns off the stove and walks to the sink, dropping the strip into it. Arnold walks up to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. The two stand together, watching as all evidence of the incriminating kiss turns to ash. Once the strip is no more, she rinses the ashes down the drain. 

She turns to Arnold, the light from the moon that streams through the window into the darkened kitchen is reflected in his eyes. She looks into the depths of his enlarged pupils and feels herself being drawn into them. He takes a step towards her, closing the gap that’s between them. His arms wrap around her waist, pressing her to him. She watches his pupils disappear behind his eyelids as they close, his face drawing closer to hers. She feels his warm breath on her lips as his tongue gently caresses them. Opening her mouth just a bit, she grants his tongue entrance as she brings her own up to meet it. Her tongue dances across his as she works her magic, erasing any lingering traces of Amanda’s kiss and replacing them with her own. Her hips press against his and the vibrations from the moan that escapes him teases her lips, causing her to press them even harder to his. 

His hands run up her back, finding the zipper to her dress. He slowly pulls it down until it reaches the bow that sits at the curve of her back. Drawing his hands upwards once more, he runs them inside the bodice of her dress, bringing them to her breasts. With a gentle squeeze it is now her turn to moan, her reaction causing him to grow instantly hard. His kiss deepening as his hands grab onto her dress, peeling it down her body, leaving it heaped in a pink puddle around her feet. 

Breaking the kiss, his eyes bore into hers, his chest heaving with each deep breath he takes. Reaching down, he throws an arm behind her knees, swooping her up into his arms. Without a word he takes her upstairs, placing her gently on their bed. She watches him as he quickly rids himself of his clothes. He crawls next to her, reaching around her to unhook her bra before throwing it to the floor. Laying her down, he slips off her silken panties. Parting her legs, he kisses the insides of her thighs, preparing her for what is to come. She feels his tongue as he starts to explore, her hands immediately getting tangled in his hair as she holds on. She writhes in ecstasy when he latches onto the one spot he knows will send her over the edge. He switches back and forth between teasing licks and toe curling sucks, as he listens to her growing moans. He feels her body tense, and right before she reaches sweet release, he pulls himself up and enters her. Wrapping her legs around his hips, a whole new set of moans escape her as he disappears deep inside of her.

They come together, each one on their own mission to please the other, and it isn’t until the wee hours of the morning, when they finally lay quietly in each other’s arms. The ordeal from earlier in the evening pushed aside for the time being, allowing them the luxury of a moment’s peace before having to deal with the aftermath of the night’s events.


	72. Chapter 72

It took Helga a little longer than usual to get Phillip dressed and ready for his outing to the high school, resulting in her having to listen to a cranky Arnold as they rushed through the school’s parking lot.

“You could have asked your mom to come over and watch Phillip this morning you know.” Arnold says between huffs as he power walks up to the school.

Holding Phillip in his front snuggly she adjusts the diaper bag that hangs from her shoulder as she addresses Arnold’s question. “Oh no, if Dunn is forcing me to come to this meeting then I’m bringing Phillip as my excuse to make a quick escape if need be.”

“Oh, and just how do you plan on using our son to your advantage?”

“If Dunn starts getting out of hand I plan on saying it’s time for Phillip’s morning snack and I’ll make as if I’m going to whip out my boob on the spot. You know Dunn will have no part of that and he’ll ask me to leave, which I’ll gladly do.”

Arnold looks at her with wide eyes. “You’d risk exposing yourself in a roomful of men just to get away from Dunn?”

“Damn straight I would.” Helga says in a tone that leads Arnold to believe she would, indeed, do just that. “Besides, it would never get that far. All I’d have to do is make a motion to lift my shirt and Dunn would rush me out the door.”

With there still being a good 25 minutes before the first bell, their footsteps echo off the walls of the near empty hallway. They pass Amanda’s classroom and Arnold glances through the door’s small window as they rush by. He’s not sure what he expected to see, perhaps her usual jacket hanging from the back of her chair? Whatever the case, he is surprised to find the room still dark and empty. The image of the photo booth pictures run through his mind and he prays she doesn’t bring them up during their meeting. 

As they near Dunn’s office they slow their pace down. The door is open and they can see both Travis and Gerald as they stand in front of the principal’s desk. They are deep in conversation which is halted when Arnold and Helga enter the room. Travis gives Gerald a “This conversation is by no means over” look as he turns to great the new arrivals. 

As they say their hellos to Travis, Gerald takes Phillip’s hand giving it a shake. “Well there’s my boy, how’re ya doing little man?” Phillip responds to his Uncle Gerald with a series of giggles as he reaches out for him. With an okay from Helga, she pulls him out of his snuggly, placing him in Gerald’s outstretched arms. As Gerald sits down he props Phillip up on his lap and begins to bounce the boy up and down much to Phillip’s delight. Grabbing on to Gerald’s necktie Phillip immediately brings it to his mouth, soaking it in drool.

After a few minutes they are finally joined by Principal Dunn who closes the door behind him before taking a seat at his desk. He motions for Helga to have a seat in the last available chair, leaving Arnold and Travis to stand. The obvious absence of Amanda does not go unnoticed by the group and they all look to Dunn for an explanation.

Clearing his throat, Dunn finally begins. “First I’d like to thank you all for coming in early for this meeting, and thank you Mrs. Shortman for taking the time from your morning to join us as well.”

“It’s no problem at all.” Helga says in an effort to keep the peace.

Dunn looks at Phillip as the boy sits contentedly in Gerald’s lap, swinging his uncle’s tie wildly about. “My, you’re son sure is growing fast. At the rate time is going by he’ll be a Hillwood High student before you know it.”

Helga is fully aware about how fast the time is going, and cringes at the thought of her baby boy being all grown up. “Please Principal Dunn, don’t rush things. I’m not ready for him to grow up just yet.”

Dunn gives a little chuckle. “When it comes to our children we never are ready to let them go.”

Eager to get on with the meeting, Travis moves the conversation to the obvious elephant in the room. “We, uh, seem to be missing someone. Is Amanda not joining us?”

Growing serious, Dunn gives them each a look. “Yes, well, about Ms Pearson. No, I’m afraid she won’t be joining us this morning, or any other morning as far at that goes.”

The group turns to look at each other in surprise. “I don’t understand.” Travis says, “Are you saying she’s been fired?”

Dunn shifts uncomfortably in his chair. “Not necessarily fired per se, since she was never a permanent member of our faculty to begin with. After speaking yesterday with a couple members of the school board, and then with Ms Pearson herself, we have all come to the agreement that it might be best for all parties concerned if she was to step down from her interim teaching assignment to find employment elsewhere.”

“So she was fired.” Travis says more as a confirmation than a question.

“As far as the school is concerned she has left on her own accord.” There is a firmness to Dunn’s tone that signals the end of that particular topic of conversation.

Doing her utmost best to control the smirk that is dying to burst out across her face, Helga speaks up. “So she backed off just like that? No trying to defend herself or place blame where it doesn’t belong?”

“No, that video was pretty incriminating. She couldn’t really deny that that was her up on the screen, so she basically admitted to everything she said on the video.”

“Plus if she was going to deny any of it she would have done so when I talked to her in the parking lot right before she drove away.” Gerald said as he did his best to reclaim his tie from Phillip’s grasp.

Dunn narrows his eyes at Gerald. “Yes, we’ll get to you and your part in this in a moment, Mr. Johanssen.” He turns to face Helga, catching her by surprise. “But right now I would like to hear just how much you know about this mysterious video and how it magically showed up out of thin air at the dance, Mrs. Shortman.”

Helga’s eyes grow wide as the attention is now focused on her. “Me? Why would you think I know anything about that video? I’m certainly no computer wizard. I’d have absolutely no idea how to do something like that.”

Dunn points a finger at her. “Yes, but you very well could know someone who does. I’m asking you one more time, and if I were you I’d answer as honestly as you can, because if it comes out that you’ve been lying in any way………”

“Now wait a minute!” Arnold breaks in, “If Helga says she had nothing to do with that video then she didn’t. Where do you get off accusing her like that with absolutely nothing to back you up?”

“Where I get off, Mr. Shortman, is due to the fact that something like this has Helga Pataki written all over it. I put up with four long years of her stunts back when you three were going to school here and I am NOT going to allow stuff like that to start happening again.”

Gerald looks over and sees the anger on both his friends faces and tries to step in and play peacemaker. “Now Principal Dunn, you may be correct about Helga’s past, but we do have to remember that that is all exactly that, ‘in the past’. I can assure you that she has mellowed out quite extensively over the past few years and if she says she had no part in that video then you can believe her.”

“Enough with the damn video!” Travis shouts, causing all eyes to turn to him. “It doesn’t matter who was responsible for playing the video, what matters is what she had to say in it.” He hadn’t meant to say what he did out loud and now casts his eyes to the floor as he remembers Amanda’s words as she confessed to using him as a mere pawn in her little game of revenge.

The look on Travis’s face is too much for Gerald and he gets up, handing Phillip back to Helga. “Look, I am willing to take the blame for the part that I played in this.”

Still in the dark about Gerald and Amanda, Dunn is curious to hear what Gerald has to say. “And just what is your part in all of this, Mr. Johanssen?”

He knew the time was going to come when he would have to face both Dunn and Travis over what he did and is ready to just get it over with once and for all. So looking to his friends for strength, he takes a deep breath and proceeds to tell his side of the story.

The two men listen carefully as Gerald explains where he was emotionally at the time Amanda came to work at the school. He tells them everything starting with how he was drawn in by all the attention she was giving him and how he allowed things to get out of hand without thinking once about her feelings. He admitted to using her to make himself feel better, then dropping her like a hot potato once he was found out by Helga. He swears over and over that he had no idea of how deep her feelings were for him. Once she started using Arnold and Helga as a means of getting back at him he admitted to going to her in an effort to try and force her to stop. He also did his best to convince Dunn of Helga and Arnold’s innocence and how she was just using them to get back at him.

“So there you have it.” He says once he’s come to the end of his story. “But, I won’t take full blame for the way things turned out. These things that happened, they were between me and her. She is the one that blew things so out of proportion. She’s the one that dragged the others into this. She should have come to me and told me how she felt in the beginning instead of using Travis and tormenting Helga and Arnold like she did.” 

Gerald glances over to Travis and wonders if the two can ever go back to being friends after all that has happened. He looks to his two best friends and once again feels guilty for the trouble he’s caused them. Turning his attention back to Dunn, he sits down and waits for him to speak. 

He starts off addressing the group as a whole. “Last Saturday you all exhibited the exact behavior that you were assigned to keep from happening. It was your job to keep order and instead you brought chaos to what was an otherwise calm evening. Now normally such behavior would be deemed as inexcusable, but, in lieu of extenuating circumstances, I will place the blame for this on Ms Pearson.” His eyes turn to Helga. “As for you, Mrs. Shortman, I’m still not 100% convinced that you had nothing to do with that video, but since I have no evidence that ties you to it, I will not hold you responsible right now.” He now turns to Gerald. “As for you, Mr. Johanssen, I would like to see you back here in my office at the end of the day.”

Arnold looks over to his friend, not wishing to be in his shoes when the first bell of the day goes off, signaling the end of their meeting. Helga picks up a tired Phillip and says her good-byes to the group. Kissing her husband, she quickly heads to her car hoping to get home before Phillip enters melt down mode. 

Once outside of Dunn’s office, Travis turns to Arnold, extending his hand in an offer of peace. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted over the last few months. I hope we can put this behind us and go back to being friends.”

Arnold gladly accepts Travis’s offer of friendship and takes his hand, giving it a hearty shake. “I’d like nothing more than to let bygones be bygones.”

With a nod and a smile Travis heads to his class just as Gerald comes out of Dunn’s office. He stands next to Arnold and watches Travis as he walks away. “I wonder if we’ll ever get back to being friends again.”

Arnold places a hand on Gerald’s shoulder. “Sure you will, you’ve just got to give him some time to get over this. Hey, how about you stop by the boarding house after your meeting with Dunn. I’ll text Helga and you can stay for dinner.”

“You know, I think I just may be in the need of some friendly company once Dunn is finished with me. I’ll text you when I’m on my way over.”

As the two men go their separate ways Arnold pulls out his phone, letting Helga know to set one more place for dinner.

xxxxx

Figuring that Gerald will be feeling pretty down in the dumps after his meeting with Dunn, Helga wants to make him something special for dinner to cheer him up. Her cooking abilities have slowly been improving over the last few months and she’s almost perfected her stuffed pork chops. So with Phillip tucked happily in his stroller, she heads down the street to Green Meats. She passes Mrs. Vitello’s flower shop along the way and wonders if some flowers would help to brighten the mood up. As she enters the small shop a bell goes off alerting Mrs. Vitello to Helga’s arrival. The older woman dries her hands on her apron as she come out from the back room. Seeing Helga her face brightens into a smile.

“Helga, what a nice surprise. It’s so good to see you. Oh and will you just look at this child, he’s the spitting image of his father.” As she bends down to look at Phillip, he reaches out, grabbing the bright silk flower that sits pinned to her apron, trying his best to bring it to his mouth.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Helga says as she pries Phillip’s fingers from the flower. “He just reaches for everything now a days, and he’s got a grip like a vice.”

Mrs. Vitello can’t help but to chuckle at Phillip as he scrunches up his face in a pout. “Oh, don’t worry about it, I raised kids of my own and I know exactly how they can be. So, what brings you by today?”

“I was thinking our kitchen needed some cheering up so I figured some flowers might be just the thing.”

“Well, if it’s brightening up you want I have some lovely petite sunflowers that would make a lovely bouquet for your table.”

“That’s perfect, I’ll take enough to fill a small vase.”

Taking the flowers to the back room, Mrs. Vitello adds some greenery to them then ties the small bouquet up with a length of burlap ribbon adding a little country charm to it. 

“Oh, those are just lovely. How much do I owe you?” Helga asks as she reaches for her purse.

“Tell you what.” Mrs. Vitello says as she attempts to strike a deal with Helga. “First of all, I’d like to congratulate you on that children’s book you wrote. I saw it when I was at the bookstore the other day. I couldn’t resist buying a couple copies for my grandkids. How about we do this, you stop by my shop tomorrow and sign the books, and I won’t charge you for the flowers.”

“Oh, I’d be happy to sign the books, but I can’t let you just give me the flowers. You have to let me pay for them!”

“Nothing doing.” Mrs. Vitello insists, “The flowers for the signature, that’s the deal.”

Helga knows Mrs. Vitello, and she knows just how stubborn she can be. So, giving up, she accepts the offer and thanks her once again as she heads back out to the street. Her next stop is the butcher shop. She walks in to find Harold behind the counter making up some hamburger patties and arranging them neatly in the meat case. Saying her hellos she orders her pork chops and it’s not long before she and Phillip are back at the boarding house. 

xxxxx

Helga works at the stove as Arnold comes walking through the kitchen door. Placing his briefcase on the table he walks up to his wife, taking her into his arms and giving her a tight hug. 

“Welcome home.” Helga says before pressing her lips to his. Their moment of bliss is interrupted by their child who sits in his swing, his arms outstretched as he reaches for his father.

Picking Phillip up Arnold gives him a tight hug as he blows raspberries on his neck, causing the child to squeal with glee. Phillip sits in his father’s arms, pulling on his tie as Arnold walks back over to Helga.

“Mmm, something smells delicious. I swear, Helga, you’re becoming a regular gourmet chef.”

“Heh, thanks for the flattery, Arnoldo, but it’s just stuffed pork chops, so don’t get too excited. So, how were things around the school today?”

“Well, as you can probably guess, the topic of conversation on everybody’s lips was the dance and Amanda’s video.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured that’s how the day would go. Did anyone approach you about it?”

“Yeah, both students and faculty, and get this, Sally Abernathy even went so far as to apologize to me for, how did she put it, ‘any rumors that may have been started by her’. Can you believe that? And all Derek said was ‘I knew that something wasn’t right with that woman’.”

“How about Travis and Gerald? How did they fair?”

“They both kept pretty much to themselves all day. Gerald and I had lunch in my office and he was pretty solemn. Anyway, Phillip and I are going upstairs to bond before Gerald gets here.”

“Bond, riiiight. You guys go and enjoy your nap, uh, I mean bonding time, and don’t worry about me as I slave away in the kitchen.”

With a wink and a smile Arnold disappears up the stairs with a happy Phillip in tow.

xxxxx

“Man, Helga.” Gerald says through a mouth full of pork, “Are you sure you made these? They’re delicious.”

“Yes, Geraldo, I made them with my own two hands. I’ve been practicing since Phillip was born. I can make all kinds of stuff now.”

Gerald looks to Arnold for confirmation. “Yep.” Arnold says, “Most of her food is actually edible now.”

“Hardy Har Har, you’re so funny.” Helga shoots back. “So, Geraldo, what did old Dunn have to say this afternoon?”

Arnold gives Helga a stern look. “Helga, you’re supposed to wait for him to be the one to bring it up. Geeze.”

“Aw, it’s okay, Arnold. He just lectured me on how as a teacher I need to set good examples for the kids and how things like this is the reason fraternization between teachers is frowned upon. He said I showed poor lack of judgement and because of such I’ve been basically put on a sort of probation for a year. Any misconduct on my part could be grounds for being fired.”

“Man, Geraldo, that’s kind of harsh, don’t you think?” Helga asks. “Especially since Travis was messing around with Amanda too.”

“Yeah, I mentioned that fact but Dunn said in Travis’s case the man was under the impression that it was a serious relationship and wasn’t just using her or some bullshit like that.”

“Well that doesn’t sound very fair to me.” Arnold says, a bit bothered by the double standard.

Gerald places his finger in his mashed potatoes and puts it to Phillip’s lips as the boy sits propped up in his highchair. “Yeah, well what can you do?” 

“Gerald, stop feeding our child mashed potatoes, he’s too young!” Helga says, trying to hit Gerald’s hand away from her son’s mouth.

“Aw, he’s okay, and look at how much he likes it.”

Helga watches as her son holds onto Gerald’s hand while he sucks the potatoes off his finger. “I swear, Gerald, if he wakes up in the middle of the night with a runny diaper I’m packing him up and bringing him to your apartment and YOU can clean him up.”

“Okay, okay, no more gourmet food for you little guy. Your momma says no.”

“Oh, turn him against me now. I see how it is.” Helga says as she smiles at her friend, happy to see his spirits lifted at least for the time being.

xxxxx

Later that night, when the house is quiet, Helga and Arnold lay next to each other in their bed. Phillip sleeps soundly in his room across the hall. Arnold holds Helga in his arms as her fingers softly caress his chest. Placing a finger under her chin, he lifts her face, the light of the moon that streaks through the window illuminates her features in a soft glow. He leans in and kisses her softly. He moves in closer, rolling her to her back as he slides on top of her. 

 

They come together, forgetting the trials of the last couple of months, finally able to put it all behind them while somewhere on the other end of town a woman scorned lays alone in her cold, empty bed.


	73. Chapter 73

It had been a long, slow week for Arnold, and he, Gerald and Travis were getting tired of being the topic of so many conversations. For Gerald it was overhearing things like “I never pictured him to be the type to just use a girl like that”, or “Man that guy knows how to play the women.” For Travis it was sympathetic stares and statements such as “There’s plenty more fish in the sea, Old Man.” Then there was Arnold. Poor, innocent, Arnold. At least that’s how his fan base saw him. Every morning he would walk into his office to find a fresh plate of cookies or brownies from some member of his fan club, always with a note about how unfair they felt Amanda was to pick on him and Helga.

At least Dunn finally got off of Helga’s back when, come early Wednesday morning he came across an untraceable email in his inbox, from an anonymous person claiming to be the one responsible for the video of Amanda. Said unnamed person was even helpful enough to attach a copy of the incriminating video, just in case there were any doubts as to Amanda’s guilt in all of this. 

Thankfully, in spite of all of that, Friday did finally arrive with the promise of a relaxing, drama free weekend just over the horizon. On a normal work day morning Arnold would be shocked awake by the blaring buzz of his alarm, but not this morning. As he lay in peaceful contentment he is jarred awake by the slap of a tiny hand as it hits his face. The slap is followed by the sound of giggles as wet drool hits his cheek. After a second slap he opens his eyes to find his son, propped up between him and Helga, staring down at him with a mischievous smile on his face. He swears that Phillip has never looked more like his mother than he does right now as the boy’s hand comes down for a third time, this time landing on his nose. Grimacing, Arnold lets go with an over-exaggerated cry as he makes a face at his child. Seeing the look on his dad’s face, Phillip lets go of a belly laugh that has both Helga and Arnold laughing along with him. 

Getting a little over excited, Phillip leans forward, causing himself to lose what little balance he has, and with a tumble and a plop, he lands face down on his father’s chest. Startled by the sudden forward momentum, Phillip lets out a shriek as the tears start flowing from his eyes. Helga quickly reaches for the child, pulling him to her lap. It takes a moment of mommy snuggles before he is calm enough to stop crying. Placing his hands in front of him, Arnold gives Phillip a quick peek-a-boo, bringing the smile back to his son’s face.

“Well that was a short lived tragedy.” Helga says as Phillip reaches for his daddy. Taking his child, Arnold lays on his back, holding Phillip up over his head. He flies him around while making airplane sounds as Phillip laughs.

Arnold places Phillip back on the bed as he finally gets up to start the day. “Yeah, it’s a good thing he has a short attention span.” Giving a stretch, he shoves his feet into his slippers and shuffles towards the bathroom.

Getting up herself, Helga takes Phillip and, giving Arnold’s bottom a good smack as she passes him, heads downstairs to start breakfast. “Anything special you want for breakfast?”

He looks at her through narrowed eyes. “Yeah, but it would make me late for work so it will have to wait until I get home.”

xxxxx

Travis sits in the teacher’s lounge and nurses a mug of coffee as he waits for the school day to begin. Again the last few months run through his mind as he does his best to try and make sense of things. He looks for any of the warning signs that should have told him that Amanda wasn’t being honest with him, but they just aren’t there. Every conversation that was spoken during all the times they were together come back to him like a song placed on the loop setting. It kills him to think that every loving touch, and every passionate kiss was just a ploy to get him to feed her the information she was looking for. He was furious with Gerald at first because, after all, he did use her for his own gratification. Surprisingly, though, as the days have slowly faded away, so has his anger to where now he only feels a mild irritation at the man. Yes he used her, and yes, that was an awful thing to do, but it still did not justify her doing what she did. 

He’s tried multiple times to contact her but she refuses to take his calls or reply to his texts. He starts to reach for his phone to send her yet another text when the door to the teacher’s lounge starts to open. Looking up he sees that it’s Derek and he gives the man a small smile.

“Hey, Derek. How’s it going?” He says, trying his best to sound cheerful.

Derek answers him as he walks over to the coffee pot. “I can’t complain when it’s a Friday. How have you been holding up?”

“I’ve been better, but I’ll survive.”

With his coffee in hand, he starts to walk back towards the door. “That Amanda sure was something else. Well, at least Hillwood will be rid of her once and for all, and none too soon if you ask me.”

Travis gives him a confused look. “What do you mean Hillwood will be rid of her?”

“Oh, haven’t you heard? Sally said she saw Amanda at the market the other day and she told her that she’s had enough of this town and she’s heading out this weekend. Tomorrow, actually.”

“So she was just going to run away without even telling me.” Travis thinks to himself. 

Derek notices the look that comes across Travis’s face. “Oh, it looks like you didn’t know. Hey, I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you.”

The thought of Amanda just skipping town without apologizing to him first angers Travis. “No, that’s okay. I’m glad you told me before she left. I’d hate for her to leave without a proper good-bye.”

Derek picks up on Travis’s anger and decides it best that he make a quick escape. “Well, good luck with that, I, uh, should be getting to my class now. You take it easy, Travis.”

“Yeah, you too, Derek. I’ll see ya around.”

Following Derek out the door, the two men go their separate ways with Travis mentally making plans to pay a visit to a certain auburn haired teacher before she has a chance to slip away.

xxxxx

Tonya stands with her head in her locker as she searches for the essay that needs to be turned in by this afternoon’s class, if she doesn’t want it to get marked down for being late. Finding it, she slips it into her backpack and takes a step back so she can shut her locker door. As she turns around she is startled to find Charles standing so closely behind her. He was anxious to hear what she had to say about the dance but felt it best to wait a few days, just to let the dust settle a bit.

Holding a hand to her chest she looks up into Charles’s face. “Dude! Why are you always sneaking around like that? I swear, your feet must not touch the ground when you walk because I never hear your footsteps.”

“Sorry, I just came over to say hi and walk with you to the cafeteria. I can leave if you want.”

“No, that’s okay. Just let me know when you’re behind me next time, all right?”

“Sure, no problem. So, I hear through the grapevine that Saturday night’s dance was something to behold.”

She gives him a knowing smile as she talks. “Oh it most certainly was. Too bad you missed it.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of sad I wasn’t there myself. Sooo, do they have any idea who could have done a thing like that?”

“Heh,” She says through a chuckle, “They have absolutely no clue, and never will, but whomever is responsible for it is a genius. Plus, the timing of it was perfect. They should feel very proud of themselves.”

Hearing this brings a smile to Charles’s face. It always makes him happy when one of his little missions has the effect he was hoping for. “So I hear Ms Pearson has packed up and is leaving town.”

Tonya has not heard this little tidbit of information and wonders how she’s missed it. “Really now? I’ve not heard this. Well, it’s good riddance if you ask me.”

Changing the subject, Charles brings up a topic of a more personal nature. “So, how did your big date with Blake go? You two an item now?”

“Heh, not yet, but we do have a date to go to the movies tomorrow night. So at least things are moving in a forward direction.”

“Aw, well, you just keep using your womanly charms on him and he’ll be eating out of your hand in no time. I gotta go. Don’t forget, you still owe me two lunches. And remember, school lunches don’t count.”

Stopping at the cafeteria door she gives him a wave as he continues on. “I know, I know. Burnt corn dogs do not qualify as a proper lunch.” Pushing through the door she scans the room, looking for Blake. She thinks about tomorrow night’s date. She didn’t tell Charles that SHE was the one that had to ask Blake out, and she wonders just how long it’s going to take for the boy to finally get clued into the fact that she actually likes him likes him.

xxxxx

Phillip lays face down on the floor of the family room. His cheek rubs against the cottony softness of the blanket that sits under him. He grabs at the little tag that sticks up as if teasing him. He holds on while waving his hand up and down. The motion causes a toy to roll towards him a bit, the bright colors immediately catch his eye. He waves the tag again, causing the toy to roll away this time. The action makes Phillip lose interest in the tag as he has now set his sights on the toy that is eluding him. He reaches out but it is just out of reach of his fingertips. He kicks his legs in an effort to propel himself forward but the weight of his body is too much for him to move so he lays there defeated. Scrunching up his face he lets out a wail as he reaches once more for the object of his desire when a hand reaches down, pushing the toy towards him. With his prey within reach, he grabs onto it, immediately bringing it to his mouth. With a roll he lies on his back and stares up into the face of his mother. He gives her a giggle as his mouth explores the drool laden rattle. He watches her as she speaks into a small object and he wonders just what that object tastes like.

Helga smiles back down at her child as she talks into her phone. “That’s great Pheebs, I’m sure Gerald will be thrilled to see you on the long weekend.”

“I know, but remember, Helga, it’s a secret. I really want to surprise him.”

“Don’t worry, my lips are sealed. I won’t even tell Arnoldo you’re coming. Do you want me to pick you up at the airport?”

“No, my mom’s going to pick me up, but thanks. There is one thing I’d like to ask you though.”

“Anything for my bestie, what’s up?”

“Well you know, it goes without saying that you’re going to be my matron of honor, so I was thinking that perhaps while I’m in town you’d like to go wedding dress shopping with my mother and me.”

“Pheebs! I’d love that. You just let me know when and where and I’ll be there.”

“That’s wonderful, it’s going to be so much fun. Oh, by the way, one of my roommates came home after birthday shopping for their niece and guess what she bought.”

“Criminy, Pheebs, how am I supposed to know? Was it a toy perhaps?”

“No, something much better. It was a copy of your book!”

“Really? Wow, it’s weird to think that people are actually buying a book that I wrote.”

“Oh, people are not only buying it, they’re loving it. She said it’s become pretty popular and that she was lucky to get the last copy the bookstore had. Plus, how could they not love it? The characters are so cute, I especially love how you have Arlo wearing a blue hat and Hazel a pink bow. Very reminiscent of a couple of grade schoolers I remember from our past.”

“Ha, ha, yeah. I wasn’t very subtle in regards to who I patterned the characters after, was I?”

“No, you weren’t. Well, I’d better get back to hitting the books. It was great talking to you. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks, and remember, mum’s the word!”

“Don’t worry. Text me next week and we’ll make dress shopping plans. Bye Pheebs.”

She sits for a bit, watching her child play on the floor next to her. Phillip had let go of his toy and inadvertently rolled over onto it. He searches the blanket for it, unable to figure out where it could have gone. Helga reaches under his belly and pulls the toy out, placing it back in front of him. He grabs it with a squeal and a smile, placing it once again in his mouth. 

Hearing the back door open, she gives Phillip an excited look. “Daddy’s home!” She says in a high pitched sing-song voice as he gurgles back up to her in reply.

“Did somebody call for their daddy?” Arnold says as he sits down, the small family of three now complete.

Phillip reaches out for his father and after giving Helga a quick kiss Arnold picks the boy up, giving him a big hug. “There’s my little man. Your daddy’s missed you, yes he has.”

The two adults sit with their child between them as they catch up on each other’s day.

“So, you made it through the week. How were things today?” Helga asks as she wipes a bit of drool from Phillip’s chin.

“It actually wasn’t too bad. Things are slowly calming down. I do have a bit of news in regards to everyone’s favorite ex teacher.”

“Oh, please do tell me, I can’t wait to hear.”

“It seems dear old Amanda has packed up and is leaving town tomorrow, and she was hoping to do it behind Travis’s back. If Derek hadn’t let it slip she’d have gotten away without even facing up to what she did to poor Travis.”

“What a little weasel. Well I hope he gets the chance to talk to her before she leaves.”

“Yeah, me too. So, how was your day? Anything exciting happen?”

Helga thinks about Phoebe’s phone call and gives Arnold a smile. “Oh, nothing too out of the ordinary. I did hear from my publisher though. It seems I’m signed up to do a book signing at the little bookstore downtown next Saturday. He said it’s in an effort to gain some local popularity, and if there’s a good turnout he said that I should expect to do a few more in the neighboring cities.”

“A book signing huh? You hear that, Phillip, you’re mommy is becoming an actual celebrity.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. It will just be me reading my book for the store’s Saturday morning story time, then sticking around to sign a few books afterwards. I doubt very many people will come.”

Getting up, Arnold hands Phillip to Helga and kisses the top of her head. “Don’t be so modest. Come on, let me change my clothes and then I’m taking my two favorite people out to celebrate. Cheeseburgers for everyone!”

“Nothing I like more than a big spender.” Helga teases as she gets up and follows her husband up the stairs.

xxxxx

Amanda finishes taping up the last of the cardboard shipping boxes. She looks around the small apartment and is anxious for tomorrow to come when she can finally say good-bye to this flea bit town. The movers will arrive first thing in the morning to load up the furniture and the boxes she’s just packed, leaving her only one small suitcase to worry about for the drive back to Montana. She’ll be staying at her parent’s house, licking her wounds until she can get back on her feet again. She’s looking forward to be playing “Daddy’s Little Girl” again, even if it means having to listen to her mother’s “I told you so’s” over moving so far from home. Her mother didn’t think Amanda had what it took to live on her own in a strange town that was so far away, and was sure to let her know it the day she left. It irks Amanda that her mom was right, but the thought of all the spoiling she’ll receive from her father upon her return will more than make up for it.

Her stomach gives a grumble and she wonders just when the pizza she ordered will arrive. It’s already past the promised 30 minute delivery time and she’s getting miffed. Hearing a knock at the door she rolls her eyes, letting out an annoyed “It’s about time!” as she opens the door. She’s about to let go with another rather snarky remark when she’s stopped in her tracks. 

“Hello, Amanda.” Travis says as he stands glaring at her from the other side of the doorway.


	74. Chapter 74

“Tr-Travis, wha-what are you doing here?” Amanda stutters as she stands frozen in complete surprise.

Travis tilts his head to one side as if in confusion. “What’s the matter? Did I surprise you?” 

She finds it hard to regain her composure and just nods as she lets out a quiet “Yes, you did.”

“Well? Are you going to let me in, or keep me standing in the hall so all your neighbors can hear what I have to say?”

Giving her head a good shake to clear it she takes a step back, allowing Travis into her apartment. “No, of course not. Come in.”

Just as he is about to cross the thresh hold there is a “ding” from down the hall as the elevator doors open. A delivery boy steps out and, after glancing at the apartment numbers, turns and heads towards Travis. 

“Uh, I have a pizza for an Amanda?” The boy says as his eyes dart back and forth between Amanda and Travis.

“I’ll take that.” Amanda says as she reaches for her wallet.

Travis beats her to the punch as he pulls out some bills from his wallet. “I’ve got this. How much do I owe you?”

“Uh, that’ll be seventeen-fifty.” The delivery boy says as he hands the pizza to Amanda.

Travis hands the boy a twenty. “There ya go. You can keep the change.”

“Yeah, okay, thanks mister.” The boy says as he heads back towards the elevator.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Amanda says, a bit of her usual sass coming back to her voice.

“Don’t worry about it. Think of it as a good-bye dinner.”

Walking through the apartment, Amanda places the pizza on the kitchen counter. Opening the box she offers Travis a piece. “Feel free to help yourself, after all, you did pay for it.”

“No thanks, I’m not hungry. So, you’re leaving huh? Just like that?”

“Well, I figured no one really wants me around, plus, since I don’t have a job anymore I thought, why stay?”

Travis’s temper is starting to get the best of him. “And you were going to leave without so much as a ‘good-bye’ or an ‘I’m sorry?’” 

“As far as I’m concerned I have nothing to be sorry about.”

Travis stands flabbergasted as he listens to Amanda. “How can you say that? You have absolutely everything to be sorry about.”

Amanda’s defenses come up as she tries to justify her words. “Hey, I’m not the one that started this. It was Gerald that used me. He came to me to get his jollies, then he threw me aside like I was yesterday’s news.” She says as she points her thumb at her chest each time she says the word “me”.

“Do you even realize how hypocritical you are being right now? How can you go on and on about Gerald after what you just did to me?”

“That was different, Travis, I cared for you. My feelings for you were real, Gerald’s were all just a lie.”

Travis rolls his eyes to the ceiling as he lets out a laugh. “Oh don’t you even try to tell me you cared for me! What you did to me was worse than what Gerald did to you. He was just being careless with his actions while you, you knew exactly what you were doing. You had each step planned out. You were strategic in your lies. You manipulated me and everyone around me without any thought to how devastating your actions may be.”

“Hey, you’re a big boy, you should know that relationships can be risky. I can’t help it if you have a bad habit of jumping in with both feet only to get burned in the end.”

He takes a step closer to her and he can see that he’s starting to scare her. “In regards to relationships I may get a little over zealous, but there’s no way you can call what we had a relationship. It was just you using me in one of your little games, but okay, I’ll take some of the responsibility for opening up my heart to you and leaving myself vulnerable. But why drag Arnold and his wife into this? What joy could you possibly get out of ruining their lives too?”

Knowing that after tonight she will have no further dealings with these people, she decides to come clean to Travis and tell him all. “Heh, Arnold. He was just another way to get to Gerald. To be honest with you, if his girlfriend had been in town I would have made her life a living hell, but since she wasn’t, well, it was Arnold that had to take the fall. It was just too bad that he was so damn devoted to that bitch of a wife. I swear I’ve never met a man with morals as strong as his. If it were any other guy I could have probably ruined that relationship too.”

Travis looks at Amanda in total disbelief over what she is telling him. “Damn, you are good. Never once, in the whole time we were together, did I have any kind of clue as to the monster that lives inside of you. What on earth could have possibly happened to you as a child to make you turn out the way you did? You know what, Amanda? I feel sorry for you. Really, truly sorry.”

She crosses her arms in front of her chest and the expression on her face makes her look like the spoiled child that she is. “Heh, how could YOU feel sorry for ME?”

He finally sees her for what she is, someone who can never be happy with her life unless everyone else around her is miserable and he really does start to feel sorry for her. His tone of voice softens a bit as he talks. “Oh, Amanda. I feel sorry for you because I’m afraid that you will never really know what it means to truly love someone, nor what it feels like to have that love returned to you. If you’re not careful you are going to end up bitter and alone in your life and that will be sad.”

Somewhere deep down she knows what he’s saying is true and his words make her uncomfortable. She is unable to look him in the eye so she casts her gaze downwards to the floor as he continues to talk.

“You know, I did love you. I loved you very much, and we could have been very happy if you had only accepted it. But instead you were too busy licking your wounds and playing your little games.”

He walks up to her now, grabbing on to her upper arms. Releasing one hand, he hooks his fingers under her chin, tilting her face up until her eyes meet his. He just looks into them for a moment and watches as they start to well up with tears. He searches them now and can see just the slightest hint of possible feelings for him, or is it regret over having failed in her mission? Either way, he heaves a sigh, disappointed over what will never be. With a sad shake of his head he says a final farewell. “Good-bye, Amanda, I really believed we could have been happy together.”

He turns and walks away not waiting for a response. She starts to call out to him but once again pride gets in her way. Angry with herself she swipes her arm across the counter that holds the now cold pizza, sending it, box and all, flying to the floor. She holds onto the counter top with both hands as she slowly regains control of her emotions. She walks to the window that overlooks the street below, carefully stepping over the spilled pizza. She sees Travis as he gets into his car, finally feeling a bit of the emptiness that dwells within her as he drives away. 

xxxxx

The next morning comes bright and early. She stands at the curb and watches as the moving truck pulls into traffic, taking all of her belongings with it. She scans the town that she has called her home for the last five months and realizes that there is not one place nor person that she is really going to miss. Getting into her car she heads out towards the highway, the tall buildings growing smaller in her rear view mirror. Her eyes reflect back to her and grow steely as she contemplates the future of this little town and its tight-knit group of residents that reside within.


	75. Chapter 75

Helga stands on the roof of the boarding house peering out over the sleepy city. It’s only been a few hours since sunrise so the air still has a bit of a winter chill to it. Looking out over the city she senses an aura of calmness flow through the town. She swears it feels as if a weight has been lifted off her shoulders, allowing her to breathe freely, and she wonders if others feel it too. She is anxious for life to get back to normal now that Amanda has made the wise decision to leave town. She hears a rustling come over the baby monitor that rests on top of the wall she is leaning on, and is happy to be able to have a few more minutes of peace as Phillip settles himself back down. 

She can’t believe that in just two short weeks he will already be five months old and wonders if this is how life is going to be from now on. Each day blending into the next as life passes by in a blur. She swears it was just yesterday when she first surprised Arnold with the news of her pregnancy. The look on his face as her words sunk in are etched in her mind. The warm feeling in her heart begins to cool as Dunn’s words haunt her. “At the rate time is going by he’ll be a Hillwood High student before you know it.” She does her best to push his words to the back of her mind, locking it away in a dark corner, and throwing away the key. She makes a vow to do her best to stop thinking about the future and instead live in the present. Doing all she can to savor each precious moment. 

She’s startled out of her reverie when she feels a pair of arms encircle her waist from behind. Leaning back she closes her eyes as she takes a deep breath in letting the scent of the man she loves more than life itself fill her senses. He places a kiss in the crook of her neck, causing the hairs on her arms to stand on end. His breath is warm in her ear as he speaks. 

“What are you doing up here all by yourself so early in the morning?”

She wraps her arms over his as she rests her head under his chin. “Oh, nothing. Just taking in the quiet. I’ve decided to slow down more and do my best to live in the moment. Time is just moving way too fast. Do you realize Phillip is almost five months old? Five months! Another month after that and he’ll be a whole half a year old. He’s already rolling over and reaching for stuff. And did you see how excited he got when Gerald gave him those mashed potatoes? Pretty soon he’ll be eating solid foods and won’t need his mommy anymore.”

Arnold hugs her tighter as he presses his cheek to hers. “Don’t be ridiculous, Phillip is always going to need his mommy, even when he’s grown with kids of his own. Besides, what happened to your only living in the moment?”

She gives a soft laugh as her own words come back to her. “Heh, you’re right. It didn’t take me long to mess that up, did it?”

Arnold moves so he’s standing next to her, his arm wrapped around her waist. He joins her in peering out over the city. “I’m afraid that’s a rule that’s going to be hard to keep, but you’re not alone you know. I think about the future a lot myself. We can’t stop time from passing, but we can hang on and enjoy the ride together.”

She turns so she’s facing him, both arms resting at his hips. She looks up into his eyes and smiles. “There’s not one person in this whole world that I’d rather go through the next stages of my life with than you. We’ve got this, we can do it, right?”

“Helga,” He starts, a mischievous twinkle coming to his eye. “If I could make it all through childhood with you and still come out alive, I KNOW we can get through this together.”

She gives him a playful punch in the stomach as she takes mock offense at his words. “Oh, as if life was a breeze putting up with you and your cluelessness, not to mention having to live through all your silly, misplaced crushes over the years.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. I can’t help it if I was just a born romantic. Besides, I realized true love when I finally was ready to see it. I just had to mature a little first.”

He leans down to kiss her, the baby monitor going off just as their lips touch. Pulling away, she gives him a regretful look. “Duty calls. You coming?”

“Naw, I think I’ll stay up here a little longer and enjoy the peace.”

“Suit yourself.” She says as she leaves the rooftop. 

Turning back towards the city it’s his turn to notice the change in the air, and to feel the weight that has been lifted off his shoulders.

xxxxx

It didn’t take long for life to return to normal for the Shortman’s and their friends. Even the students at Hillwood High had moved on with bigger and better things to occupy their minds. The most notable being the teacher the school chose to replace Amanda. He is an older gentleman that goes by the name of Nicholas Clausen. He is kind, and jolly, and always quick with a smile or a hearty laugh. The most notable thing about him, though, is his large, snowy white beard that matches the hair that sits atop his slightly balding head. His friend’s call him Nick, but you stop any young child on the street and ask them his name, and nine times out of ten, they will take one look at him and in a tone that can only be described as awestruck, they will quickly tell you that his name is, without a doubt, Santa. He is the polar (no pun intended) opposite of Amanda and is quickly working his way into the hearts of not only the students, but the faculty alike. So that is why it is Nick who Tonya and her group of friend’s discuss today as they sit around the lunch tables.

“So, what does everyone think of the new English teacher?” Amanda says as her eyes scan the group.

“I like him.” Denise says as she pulls an apple from the crumpled brown bag that sits in front of her. “He’s really nice, and he definitely makes English interesting, much more than Ms Pearson ever did.”

“This is true,” Heather agrees, “But don’t you find it funny how much he looks like Santa Claus? He even has Claus in his name.”

“Yeah and he really makes use of that fact come the holidays. I’ve heard that every Christmas he plays Santa at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club at the other end of town.” Gina says putting her two cents into the conversation.

Swallowing a mouthful of diet soda, Tonya expresses her feelings to the group. “Well, all I can say is that he’s certainly a welcome change from that witch he’s replacing.”

As the girls all nod their heads in agreement Denise changes the subject. “So, Tonya, you still babysitting for the Shortman’s this Saturday while they’re at the book signing?”

Abby turns to Tonya with a look of surprise. “When did you start babysitting for the Shortman’s?”

“I haven’t yet, this will be my first time. Mrs. Shortman has that event at the bookstore and Mr. Shortman wanted to be there for her. Since she’s never done a book signing before they decided to leave Phillip home. The whole thing is only supposed to take about three hours she said.”

A starry-eyed look comes across Gina’s face as she thinks about being alone in Mr. Shortman’s house. “Just imagine, you, in Mr. Shortman’s own house. Perhaps sitting next to him on his couch as he looks at you with those dreamy green eyes.”

“Eh,” Tonya lies as she brushes Gina’s comment off, “I’ve been in their house before and it was no big deal.” Her cheeks flush a bit as she remembers him walking into the room, standing bare chested and slightly embarrassed. 

Gina notices the flush and gives her friend a smirk. “Whatever you say, Tonya.”

xxxxx

A nervous Helga goes over the check list one more time as Tonya holds Phillip on her hip. “Okay, so we will be at “The Book Worm” over on 15th Street, I’ve written the number down on the paper I gave you. I also put the number for the fire department, the police station and the closest hospital. You already have my number but I wrote down Arnold’s too just in case I don’t pick up. If need be you can always run down to Mrs. Vitello’s and I’m sure she’ll be glad to help you with whatever you need. There’s plenty of breast milk in the refrigerator all doled out in pre-measured bottles. He should go down for his mid-morning nap without a problem and…………”

Arnold comes up behind Helga, placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her towards the door. “Helga, Tonya is a qualified babysitter. She’s done this lots of times before. You’re going to drive her crazy.”

“Yeah, but this is the first time she’ll be watching Phillip. What if he gets scared or, or…….”

Arnold points to a content Phillip who sits playing with Tonya’s hair. “Look at him. Does he look scared to you?”

“Well, no, but…”

“No buts. We need to get going. How’s it going to look if you’re late to your very first book signing?” He turns to Tonya and gives her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry about all this, Tonya. We really do trust you.”

“Oh, no worries Mr. Shortman. I know how it is with first time moms. You guys have a good time, and good luck, Helga, you’re going to do great.”

“Thanks, Tonya.” Helga all but yells as Arnold drags her behind him and out the door.

Once they’re gone Tonya turns to the child that sits happily on her hip and rubs her nose to his. “Little Dude, that certainly is one over protective mommy you’ve got there.”

Phillip responds with a chuckle and a gurgle as he gives Tonya’s hair one good pull, bringing it to his mouth.

xxxxx

They didn’t expect much of a crowd at today’s book signing so it is with great surprise when they drive up to the little store to find a line trailing half way down the long block. It’s made up mostly of mothers with their young children, but she notices a familiar face or two scattered among the fray. Arnold pulls the Packard to the back of the store as previously instructed and they enter the establishment from the rear door. They are met by the store’s owner, Lidia Jackson. She’s a short, happy woman with a thick Jamaican accent and a smile that immediately sets your soul at ease. 

Hearing the back door bell, Lidia comes over to meet the nervous couple. “Ah, Helga, Arnold, welcome to my store. Are you ready for your big day my dear?”

Helga wraps an arm across her chest bringing it to the other one which she nervously rubs. “I thought I was, until I saw the line outside on the street. I really didn’t expect so many people.”

“Ah, yes, it is a good showing indeed. Your little book has made quite a stir with the little ones. You have quite the talent my child. Now, I have a rocking chair for you to sit at as you read your book this morning. How it will work is the children will sit on the round story time carpet as they listen. When you are finished I have a table all set up for the signing of your books. Once you have signed their book they will bring it over to the counter for purchase.”

“Um, how long do you supposed all of this will take?”

“Oh, it shouldn’t take more than three or four hours at most.”

“Four hours?” She looks over at Arnold. “We told Tonya no more than three. What if she can’t stay?”

Arnold does his best to reassure her. “Don’t worry, Helga, if she can’t stay then I’ll go get Phillip and bring him back here. It’ll be fine.”

“Okay, if you say so, Arnoldo.”

“So, are we ready to open the doors?” Lidia asks with a toothy smile.

Helga looks to Arnold who gives her a nod of his head. Turning to Lidia she takes a deep breath in. “As ready as we’ll ever be I guess. Let’s do this!”

xxxxx

Helga and Arnold wait in a back room to the bookstore while Lidia makes her way to the front of the store to let the line of customers in. She nervously wrings her hands in front of her as she paces what little floor space there is.

“Ohhh, I don’t know about this, Arnold. I’m starting to have second thoughts. I don’t do well with crowds.”

Arnold steps in front of her, interrupting what has to be her tenth pass across the worn carpet. Placing his hands firmly on her shoulders he looks down at her. “Helga, look at me.”

Slowly she lifts her face to meet his and he can see the anxiety as it swims around in her eyes. “You have nothing to be nervous about. All those people out there, they are here because they like you. They’re not here to mock or ridicule you. They are your friends and your fans.”

“My – fans?” She never considered herself having any sort of fan base, and the words feel strange on her tongue.

“Yes, Helga, fans. Face it, you have fans. Okay, most of them may not even know how to tie their shoes yet, but they’re fans none the less.”

His small joke brings a smile to her face and helps to lighten the stress that has been pressing down on her. She gives him a tight hug, the feel of his arms as he embraces her further calming her shattered nerves. “How do you do it? How do you always know the right things to say to put me at ease?”

“I don’t know, years of practice maybe? Or maybe it’s just the fact that you find my charms to be irresistible and you can’t help yourself.” He lets go of one shoulder while draping his arm around the other as he lifts his free hand palm side up in front of them. “You’re like putty in my hands as I bend and shape you.”

“Oh brother!” She says, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. “Don’t get too carried away, Bucko. I can still resist you if need be.”

Arnold leers down at her, pressing his nose to hers. “Oh yeah? Can you resist this?” He presses his lips to hers, forcing his tongue past her lips and giving it a good swirl around her mouth. Her knees give a small buckle as she grabs onto his shirt for support. 

She’s about to return the kiss when Lidia comes walking into the room. Clearing her throat, she gives the couple a smile. “I hate to interrupt such a private moment, but your fans are waiting, Helga.”

As Helga takes a deep breath preparing herself for what she’s about to do, Arnold leans down, whispering in her ear. “See, I told ya you have fans.”

Lidia is the first to greet the guests as she stands next to the waiting rocking chair. 

“Good morning, and welcome to Saturday Morning Story Time here at The Book Worm. Today we have a very special guest, she’s a local resident of Hillwood that I’m sure a lot of you are already familiar with. Please help me in welcoming our very own Helga Shortman.”

She hears the applause as her hand grips Arnold’s. The fear has come back and she stands frozen in place. Leaning down, Arnold once again whispers in her ear. “You’ve got this. Remember, they’re YOUR fans, they’re here because they like you. Now go out there and be the Helga Shortman I know.”

With a resolute nod of her head, she lets go of Arnold’s hand and walks out to face her destiny.


	76. Chapter 76

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that in the episode, Crabby Author, Arnold says the name of the book Agatha Caulfield wrote is titled “The Weird-Headed Kid and the Mean Old Witch. But, if you actually look at the book itself, the title is reversed to read “The Mean Old Witch and the Weird-Headed Boy”, which is the way I’ve chosen to write it in this chapter.

She steps out from the back room, Arnold a pace or two behind her. He slips off to the side as she takes in the group before her. Looking down she sees that the round story time carpet is now filled with smiling children ranging in age from around two to six-years-old, their small faces beaming up at her. Some actually holding already worn copies of her book, others sporting either pink bows or blue baseball caps. Lifting her gaze, she scans the small sea of people that stand behind the waiting children. She picks out a familiar face here and there and gives them a nod in recognition. She notices that Arnold has moved towards the back of the crowd to stand by her parents as well as Olga and Samuel. It touches her heart that her family actually showed up to support her. Even her dad took time away from his electronic kingdom to be there. She sees Patty standing by Harold, her all too pregnant belly sticking out full and round in front of her. Off to the side is Sid who stands quietly snapping picture after picture of Helga and the crowd. 

Picking up the copy of her book that sits on the rocker, she takes a seat and smiles at the crowd.

“Hi, my name is Helga Shortman and I’d like to thank you all for coming to the reading of my first children’s book, ‘Arlo’s Adventures, Exploring the Neighborhood’”. 

She turns her attention to the children that sit somewhat patiently on the rug. “I see some of you have already read my book. Do you like it?” 

She is answered with a loud chorus of “YEAHHHH!”

“That’s awesome. Do you have a favorite character?” To this she is bombarded with shouts of “I like Arlo!” and “Hazel is my favorite, I like her bow! Or ‘I have a blue hat just like Arlo!’”

Finally relaxing a bit, Helga holds up the book. “How about if I read it to you now, would you like that?”

Having gained their full attention, the children shout out a hearty, “YAAAY!”

Holding the book out for all the children to see, she turns the first page. “Okay, when reading a book, we always start out with the title page, which says ‘Arlo’s Adventures’. Then under that it says ‘Exploring the Neighborhood’. Written by Helga Shortman. That’s me, I’m the author of the book. That means I wrote the words. Let’s see now. Under that it says Illustrated by Kent Underwood. That means he’s the one who drew the pictures.”

Looking out over the crowd she sees Arnold, the smile on his face stretching from ear to ear. She catches sight of her father and her heart skips a small beat. “Is that – pride I see on his face?” She thinks briefly before moving on with the story. Turning the page she holds the book out for everyone to see. There on the pages in bright colors is a young koala boy, dressed in a plaid shirt and blue jeans, with a small blue baseball cap perched crookedly on his head. From underneath the cap his fir juts out at different angles. He is being ushered outside by his mother much to his chagrin. She reads the words at the bottom of the page:

“It’s a bright, sunny morning, on a bright, sunny day  
As Arlo’s mom rushes him outside to play.  
‘Aw, mom’, Arlo says with a bit of a frown.  
‘It’s no fun going out when you’re the new kid in town’.

And so the book goes on, detailing how, once forced to go make friends, Arlo meets up with a boisterous honey badger named Hazel. Their initial coming together happening when, without paying attention, Arlo rounds a corner and runs smack dab into an already grumpy Hazel. By the end of the book the two become friends, thus setting the story up for a whole series of future adventures.

The children sit enraptured as Helga continues to read, going so far as to use a different voice for each new character they meet. By the time she’s done even the adults stand engrossed in the story, saddened when it comes to such a quick end. As she closes the book she is greeted with a round of applause that catches her by surprise.

She’s approached by Lidia who thanks Helga for being today’s story time reader. Standing up Helga is surrounded by happy children as they all talk at once. She’s eventually joined by Arnold and the rest of her family as they each take turns congratulating her. It’s Bob that surprises her the most when he wraps her up in a huge bear hug. “That’s my girl, a true Pataki. I have to say, Helga, I’ve never been more proud of you. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

She’s not really sure how to take the remark but at the same time she’s never seen Bob to be more sincere than he is right now. So she decides to give him the benefit of the doubt and take his words as a true compliment and just be happy about it. 

She turns around to see a man who looks to be a few years older than she is, standing behind her. He is quite handsome with his thick dark hair and deep brown eyes and for some reason she has a feeling that he knows it. When she looks at him he flashes her a smile and sticks out his hand. His voice is smooth and touched with a bit of an accent. “Mrs. Shortman, I’m Carlos Ortiz. I work for Mother Goose Publishing Company and I’ve been sent to oversee the book signing today. It’s my job to make sure everything runs smoothly and to answer any questions that you may have. 

Taking his hand she gives it a tentative shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Carlos.”

“Likewise, Mrs. Shortman. I will let you get on with greeting the customers, I just wanted to introduce myself. I will get in touch with you later in the week but for now, enjoy your day.

He moves on to blend in with the crowd as he keeps a watchful eye out, monitoring how things are going. Helga’s not sure yet how she feels about him but pushes it out of her mind as a small child with a big pink bow in her hair, tugs on her hand in an effort to get her attention.

She is eventually ushered over to the table that has been set up for the book signing and takes a seat, pen in hand. For the next two hours she sits greeting customers and making small talk as she signs copies of her book. She tries to make the remarks original and different for each person but after a while her brain starts to lock up and she resorts to a standard,

“May all of your adventures be happy ones,  
Your Friend,  
Helga G. Shortman”

Soon after the last book is signed the crowd thins out to just family and a few close friends. Helga steals a quiet moment alone with Arnold in the children’s section of the book store. Grabbing her hand, he takes her over to a shelf of books. Lined up at the top are copies of books you can find on the shelves below.

“Helga, look. Your book is sitting right next to one of Agatha Caulfield’s. My two favorite author’s books sitting side by side. You have to admit, that’s kind of exciting.”

“Arnold, look at the title, “The Mean Old Witch and the Weird-Headed Boy”. That’s the book she wrote after meeting you! Wow, who’d of ever thought one of my books would be on the same shelf as Agatha Caulfield’s.”

Arnold grabs her into a hug, pulling her to him and placing his forehead to hers. “Why, I did silly. I’ve always had faith in you. You know, I really was proud of you today, watching how you handled those children. Not to mention how much they loved your book.”

They share a quick kiss before she hears her name being called on the other side of the book shelf. “Hey, Helga, Arnold, where’d you go?” Arnold recognizes the voice of his best friend and kisses Helga on the nose. “We’ll finish this when we get home, right now we’d better get back to the group.”

“There you are.” Gerald says as the two come around the corner of the bookshelf. “Hey, Helga, your brother-in-law just invited everyone back to his house for a celebratory dinner. I hope you didn’t have any plans.”

The couple share a look before speaking up. “No, no solid plans, but we will need to stop by the boarding house to pick up Phillip. I think Tonya has a date tonight to get ready for.” Helga says as she scans the store for Lidia.

She finds the woman happily chatting with Miriam. “I hate to interrupt, but Arnold and I need to go relieve the babysitter if we’re all done here. Is there anything more I need to do, Lidia?”

Flashing Helga her brightest smile, Lidia gives her head a shake, her long braids swinging from side to side. “No my dear, we are done for the day. It was a wonderful turnout for a first book, you should be very proud of yourself.”

Still not used to such attention, Helga’s cheeks flush as she kicks at the floor with the toe of her shoe. “Oh, thank you. I guess I’m still getting used to it all. I’ve never had so much attention focused so directly on just me before.”

“Well get used to it dear, I see a bright future ahead of you. Now you run along and take care of that little one of yours and I will be in touch with you later in the week.”

xxxxx

They made it back to the boarding house just in time for Phillip’s afternoon nap. Sitting down to breastfeed him she has a quick chat with Tonya. “I hope he wasn’t any trouble for you while we were out, Tonya.”

“Oh, no, Mrs. – uh – I mean Helga. He was a perfect angel. So how did the book signing go?”

“Actually, it wasn’t so bad. I was nervous at first that I wouldn’t know what to say or do in front of all those people, but seeing so many friends and family members in the audience made it a lot easier.”

“So will we be seeing you on any top ten book lists anytime soon?” Tonya teases.

“Ha! I’m afraid not very many small children’s books make it to the top ten that often. My book may be cute, but it’s no ‘Cat in the Hat’.”

“Well, who knows? Mickey Mouse started off as a small doodle in one man’s imagination and look at what happened with that.”

Helga gives a laugh at the comparison. “Oh, I can just see it I’ll have my very own ‘Arloland’ built right here in Hillwood. It can replace Dinoland.”

Hearing only the tail end of their conversation, Arnold comes into the room curious as to what’s going on with his favorite childhood hangout. “What? What’s happening to Dinoland? They’re not tearing it down are they? I was looking forward to taking Phillip there someday.” 

“Nothing’s happening to Dinoland, Mr. Shortman.” Tonya says as she studies the half-lidded gaze he gives his wife. “I was just telling Mrs. Shortman how maybe someday Arlo could be as famous as a certain cartoon mouse we all know so well.”

A look of relief comes over Arnold’s face, “Oh, that’s good to hear. So, Helga, Phillip’s diaper bag is all ready to go. We should be leaving shortly.” To Tonya he holds out a small wad of money. “Here ya go, Tonya. There’s a little extra there for doing such a good job. I hope we can call on you again the next time we’re in need of a sitter.”

Standing, Tonya accepts the cash, trying hard to stifle a giggle as her fingertips touch his. “Thank you Mr. Shortman, it was really fun watching Phillip. He’s got quite the personality. I have a feeling he’s going to be a handful when he starts becoming more mobile.”

Arnold eyes shift towards Helga. “Well, I’m finding that he’s starting to take after his mother in the personality department, so, yes, I know what you mean.”

“Hey! I’m standing right here you know and I can hear what you’re saying. Besides, what’s wrong with my personality, Bucko?”

Arnold kisses the top of her head. “Nothing, Dear, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Wishing she could stay longer, Tonya puts the money Arnold gave her into her purse and heads towards the door. “Like I said, Phillip was no trouble, and you can call me anytime to babysit and if I can’t do it I’m sure one of the other girls would jump at the chance. They’re all experienced babysitters too.”

Once Tonya’s left Helga gets up, placing Phillip in his carrier. “This is good timing, Phillip can sleep in the car on the way to Olga’s.”

Arnold takes on a bit of a sulky tone as he wraps his arms around Helga’s waist. “I guess we could leave now, but I was hoping to congratulate you in my own ‘private’ way before heading off to meet the others.”

She holds his face in her hands as she kisses the tip of his nose. “There’s plenty of time for that tonight. As for now, we mustn’t keep my adoring fans waiting you know.”

“Oh so now they are your adoring fans? It didn’t take you long to get used to the attention.”

“I’m kidding.” Helga says as she picks up Phillip’s carrier. “Now come on, we definitely don’t want to keep Olga waiting.”

xxxxx

They arrive at Olga’s just as Patty and Harold pull into the large, circular, driveway. Harold runs around to the passenger side of their truck to help his wife. Afterwards, he grabs a large package that is wrapped up in brown butcher paper. The four friends walk together up to the door.

“I can’t wait for this dinner.” Harold says as he holds out the package. “Your brother-in-law sprung for some of the best steaks in the butcher shop. I just hope he knows how to cook them right, there’s nothing worse than an overcooked steak.” 

“You don’t have to worry about Samuel,” Helga says, actually defending the guy, “Just like Olga, he knows his way around the kitchen. I’ll bet you anything the steaks will be cooked to perfection.”

Helga gives a loud knock on the door before opening it and letting herself in, a new habit she and Olga have formed when visiting each other. “Hello!” She yells, “Anybody home?”

It’s Samuel that comes striding up to the door. “Helga, Arnold, you made it. And Patty and Harold too. Welcome, welcome, ahh, tonight’s dinner. Why don’t you come into the kitchen with me old chap and we can settle the bill for the meat.”

“Okay, sounds good.” A slight blush comes to Patty’s cheeks as Harold gives her a quick kiss. “I won’t be too long, Patty. Give a yell if you need anything, okay.”

Patty smiles at her husband’s back as he disappears into the kitchen with Samuel. “Well, that’s the last we’ll see of him until the steaks are cooked.” 

The small group of three, plus Phillip, enter the family room where the rest of the guests sit, chatting happily. When Bob sees them enter he immediately gets up. “There’s the girl of the hour.” He says as he gives her a big hug.

“Oh Helga,” Miriam breaks in, “You were just wonderful up there in front of all those children earlier. We’re so proud of you.”

Helga’s cheeks flush a deep red at the attention she’s getting from both her parents. “Gee, thanks. I was kind of surprised at the turnout myself. I had no idea the book was so popular locally.”

“Oh, not just locally Baby Sister.” Olga interrupts, “Some mom’s at my book club bought the book for their children and just raved over how cute it is. They were hoping that maybe one day you might visit one of our meetings and read it to their kids.”

“Oh, wow, uh, yeah, that would be great, I guess. Sure, I’d love to.”

“Mmm-mmm-mm!” Gerald says as he shakes his head. “Who’d of ever guessed, that someday little old Helga Pataki would go from sappy love poems, to short stories, to online blogs, to famous children’s author, all before reaching 30.” 

“Hey, I keep telling you guys, I’m not famous. It was just one small book signing for a local book store.”

“I don’t know about that Helga.” Sid says, “But one thing I do know is, when you DO become famous, I want to be the one to take your author photo for the book jacket.”

Helga holds up her thumb in agreement. “You’ve got it, Sid. The job is yours.”

They spend the next half an hour or so enjoying each other’s company. Phillip has awakened and sits happily bouncing on his grandpa’s knee as his grandma jingles a set of car keys in front of him. Helga and Patty eagerly talk about Patty’s upcoming baby shower while Arnold, Sid and Gerald sit discussing this past year’s Super Bowl over a rapidly disappearing bowl of guacamole. 

xxxxx

Not long after dinner is finished, the small group of friends slowly disbands with full stomachs and contented smiles. Once again her parents congratulate her on her recent accomplishment bringing a smile to not just her face, but Arnold’s too and after a round of good-bye kisses and hugs Arnold and Helga head back to the boarding house with Phillip sound asleep in the back of the Packard.

Once home, Helga puts Phillip in his crib, then joins her husband in bed. She lays on her back as Arnold props himself up on his side facing her. “This has been quite a day.” Helga says as she looks up into her husband’s eyes.

Arnold kisses her forehead, causing her to giggle. “It sure has, and something tells me you’d better start getting used to it.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I think we need to just wait and see. It’s a big world out there. I could just be experiencing that whole ‘big fish in a small pond’ syndrome.”

Arnold’s kisses move down to her cheek. “Orrrr, it could just be you being too hard on yourself and not giving yourself the credit you deserve.”

She wraps her arms around his neck as she smiles. “Orrrr, you could just be a biased fan making more of this than it really is.”

His cheek kisses become neck nibbles. “Come on, admit it, there has to be at least a small part of you that thinks this could turn out to be a big thing.”

She closes her eyes as she lifts her chin, exposing more neck for him to nibble. “Well, perhaps a small part of me hopes so.”

He gives her a bite, forcing a gasp to escape her lips. “Well you know what the best part of today will be?”

She starts to run her fingers through his messy hair. “No, tell me.”

He looks at her, giving her a wicked smile. “Me, making love to a future world renowned author.”

She starts to say something but her words are cut off as his mouth covers hers, putting an end to all future discussion.


	77. Chapter 77

Phillip lays on his back as he slowly opens his eyes. The house is quiet, a little too quiet for his likes, so he lets out a soft gurgle to fill the void. Having the problem of too much quiet solved, he looks at the colored objects that hang suspended above his head. It’s funny how, no matter where he falls asleep, he always wakes up in this same spot. In his crib, under the hanging shapes. He reaches his hands up to touch them but they are too far out of his reach and he grows bored. Turning his head he looks at the colorful mural that is painted on his walls through the slats of his crib. He sees the familiar shapes of the animals as they stand by the water’s edge and gurgles a little louder in hopes of gaining their attention. When they don’t turn to look at him he turns his head, catching sight of his own hand. He places it in his mouth, giving it a suck. 

As he lay there sucking on his fingers, he feels a tightness begin to form in his belly. It turns into a cramp and he takes both hands now, holding them up to the sides of his slightly elongated head. With his hands balled up into fists, he shuts his eyes, tensing up as his stomach cramp grows stronger. Closing his eyes, he bares down and through an explosion of sound and smell, the cramp in his belly is relieved. He goes back to his quiet gurgles, but something is off. As he kicks his legs he feels something warm and squishy covering the lower part of his body. He doesn’t like it, and wants it gone, and the only way he knows how to handle a problem like this is with a yell, so taking a deep breath in, he lets it out with a loud wail. 

He keeps it up even after he hears his mother’s voice as she comes to his rescue. She moves her mouth and he hears the sounds that come out of it and even though he knows not what she says, the sounds reassure him anyway. His cries slow down but they do not stop as he feels himself being lifted out of the crib. As he is placed back down he opens his eyes and sees his mommy’s face smiling down at him. The sounds he hears as she moves her mouth soothe him and after a moment he rewards her with a smile and a laugh. 

He reaches out, grabbing onto her hair, tugging on it until her hands grab his, peeling them off. She flips her hair behind her back and out of his reach, then begins to unsnap his sleeper. The air feels cold when it hits his exposed flesh causing tiny goosebumps to crawl across his skin. After pulling his legs out of the sleeper she opens his diaper, holding her nose and waving a hand back and forth in front of her face as she looks down at him. The sounds that come out of her mouth are loud and exaggerated and they make him laugh and kick his feet. He feels the lower part of his body being lifted as she grabs onto his ankles. The baby wipe is cold and wet as it cleans him. When she releases his ankles he goes back to kicking his legs, making it hard for her to clean the front of him. He feels a familiar tingle start to grow and before he knows it warm water comes shooting out from him. His mommy is ready, though, and has a small cloth ready to drape over him so she doesn’t get sprayed. When he’s done he proudly smiles for his mommy, causing her to laugh and shake her head. She finishes cleaning him up, wrapping his diaper nice and snug around him. Completely removing the old sleeper, she dresses him in a fresh one, throwing the old one onto a stack of his dirty clothes. She takes a moment to take his legs and move them up and down one after another as she sings a soft song. The tune is light and repetitive. Now she gently pushes and pulls each leg alternating right and left, bending them at the knee. This encourages him to kick his legs, laughing as he does so. 

She picks him up, making a stop in the bathroom to wash her hands before carrying him to her bed. His stomach begins to rumble again, only this time for a whole different reason. He begins to fuss and pucker his lips, burying his face into her chest. He hears more sounds come from her mouth as she lays him down between her and his daddy. He hears new sounds now coming from behind him and he feels a pair of lips as they briefly rest on the top of his head. A strong arm wraps around him and his mommy just as she moves a bit closer to him. Moving his face he smells the sweet aroma of his early morning snack and latches on hungrily, his small hand resting on the soft mound that provides him his sustenance. 

He hears the sounds of his mommy and daddy as they softy talk back and forth, lulling him as he eats. He fights to keep his eyes open but the warmth of the bed, and fullness of his tummy win out and he loses the battle. Closing his eyes, he stops sucking and his breathing becomes slow and even. He is unaware as his mommy sweeps him up in her arms, carrying him back to his own room, placing him gently in his crib, under the colorful objects that hang suspended above him.

xxxxx

They say time flies when you’re having fun, and Arnold believes that this must be so, otherwise how else can one explain why weekdays move so slow while the weekends seem to fly right by. He thinks about that as he stands under the spray of the shower, letting the water do its job to refresh him and wake him up. Its only Wednesday, but he swears at least ten days have dragged by since Sunday. It’s been almost a full month since he upped his schedule at the high school from three days a week to all five and it’s taking time for him to get used to it. He roughly calculates in his head just how much of the school year is left before summer, and is glad that there is still spring break to help break up the monotony. It’s not that he doesn’t like his job, he does. He’s always had a propensity towards helping others, and who better to help than lost teenagers, struggling to find the right path towards their future. He’s also a born encourager, and gets great fulfillment when he can take a teen who’s on the brink of giving up and showing them that they have what it takes to succeed. 

He had lingered long enough under the warm spray, and the water was starting to have the opposite effect of relaxing him, instead of waking him up. With one last dunk under the rushing water, he turns off the shower and begins to dry off. He looks into the steamy mirror rubbing his fingers down his freshly shaven chin and wonders once again if he should just break down and grow a beard, regardless of Helga’s complaints. He thinks to himself, “Maybe one day I’ll just have to talk Gerald into a camping trip for a week, completely off the grid. I can let the beard grow out and then when I get back Helga will see how good it looks and beg him to keep it.” He contemplates this for a minute as his reflection smirks back at him. He thinks more realistically about what Helga’s reaction would probably be if he does, and wonders if it’s worth the risk.

Finally dry, he wraps the towel around his waist and walks into the bedroom where he finds wife and child happily playing on the bed. He gives them a warm smile as he bends over to give them each a kiss on their foreheads. 

Helga looks him up and down, her gaze stopping where the towel hangs, just below his belly button. “You know, you really shouldn’t come walking in here looking so sexy. How am I supposed to go through the rest of my day with the image of you in that towel floating through my mind? Especially when I have to come up with new story ideas for my children’s book?”

Arnold peers at her through half-lidded eyes as his grin turns lecherous. “Well, you can always write an adult version. You know, where Hazel takes Arlo down into her underground burrow and shows him just what makes a badger so …. Wild.”

Helga’s eyes grow wide. “What! I will not taint the purity of my characters, they are innocent, young animal children who know nothing of ‘wild times.’”

“Suit yourself.” Arnold says as he walks to the dresser, pulling out a clean pair of boxers from the drawer.

Helga slides off the bed, leaving Phillip to lay on his back and ponder the ceiling. “Keep an eye on Phil while I get your breakfast, will ya?”

“Sure thing.” Arnold says as she leaves the room. Turning back to the dresser, he notices the full-length mirror and gets an idea. Picking up his phone, he takes a selfie of his reflection as he stands, slightly flexing, in front of the mirror. Saving it into his phones picture gallery, he plans on giving his wife a little thrill come mid-day.

As he finishes getting dressed Arnold doesn’t notice that Phillip has been rolling back and forth on the bed, each roll bringing him precariously close to the bed’s edge. He starts to tuck his work shirt into his pants when he finally catches some movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning, his heart leaps up into his throat as he sees Phillip take one last roll. The child has run out of bed space and starts to slip off the side and onto the floor. With a loud “NO!” Arnold moves at the speed of light, his body a blur as his hands reach out and catch the child right before he makes contact with the floor.

The sudden feeling of weightlessness shocks Phillip, causing him to belt out a loud wail as Arnold scoops his child out of the air and brings him to his chest where he wraps the boy up in his arms. Phillip’s mouth sits right by Arnold’s ear and his yells fill Arnold’s head as the sound dances around his eardrum, the vibrations sending a ringing through his ears. “Well we all know where you got that voice from!” Arnold says to his child through a wince. He bounces his child as he walks the floor in an effort to calm him down. The up and down action of his legs causing his unzipped pants to slowly slide down his body. He tries grabbing his pants with one hand, hoisting them back up over his butt while still bouncing Phillip but finds the effort to be useless so he sits on the edge of the bed, pants half-way down his legs, Phillip still wailing in his hear.

“What’s going on up there?” He hears Helga yell from down the stairs.

Not willing to admit that their child almost took a face plant to the floor due to his inattention, he skirts around the truth. “Nothing, nothing at all. Phillip just, uh, just got bored with laying on the bed and wanted up is all. Nothing to worry about. We’ll be downstairs in a bit.”

“Okay.” Helga yells back as she heads back to the kitchen.

Phillip finally starts to calm down and Arnold holds him, propped up on his knees. “That was a close one Philly Boy. Let’s say we not worry your mom over this, okay? I promise not to say anything if you do, agreed?” Arnold takes Phillip’s tiny hand, giving it a shake as if to seal the deal, causing the boy to finally forget about the tragic mishap as he lets out a happy belly laugh.

“That’s my boy.” Arnold says as he once again places Phillip on the bed, only this time he stands at the edge as he pulls his pants back up, cinching his belt at the waist.

xxxxx

Father and son enter the kitchen to find breakfast ready and waiting on the table. Helga takes Phillip from Arnold and looks into the boy’s smiling face. “I swear, Phillip, you sounded as if you were being tortured up there.” She says as she props him up in his highchair. 

Arnold gives the boy a sideways glance then turns his attention to the bowl of oatmeal that sits in front of him. “Oh, well, you know how babies are. The only way they can get their feelings across is by either crying or laughing.”

Something in Arnold’s speech grabs Helga’s attention, and she gives him a scrutinizing look, causing him to squirm a bit in his seat. “If you say so, Arnold.”

He gives her a guilty smile as he scoops a bit of brown sugar into his cereal. Helga’s eyes watch him over the rim of her coffee mug as she takes a sip. Needing the attention off of him, and off of him now, he quickly changes the subject. “So, anything special you want to do over the long weekend?”

Keeping her promise to Phoebe, Helga still hasn’t told Arnold that her friend is planning on coming to town, so now it’s her turn to skirt around the truth a bit. “Oh, nothing too big. I do still have my magazine column to work on, along with my online blog. Not to mention trying to come up with another adventure for Arlo and Hazel.”

Arnold gives her a concerned look. “That’s an awful lot of writing to have to come up with. Are you sure you haven’t taken on too much work?”

She thinks about it for a minute, wondering the same thing herself. “Well, it’s not so bad once the ideas come and the words start flowing. It’s the coming up with what to say that makes it hard. Besides, if we don’t want to rely on boarders for income then I need to pull my share too. I can’t let it all fall on you.”

Arnold dips his finger into his cereal, holding it out to Phillip. “I was only planning on working part time at Bob’s store this summer, but I can always go on full time if it eases up the burden on you.”

Helga watches as Phillip grabs Arnold’s cereal laden finger, sticking it in his mouth. “Arnold! Stop feeding Phillip cereal. I swear, you’re as bad as Gerald.”

“Aw, come on, what’s wrong with a little cereal. He likes it. Besides isn’t cereal one of the first solid foods you give a baby?”

“Yeah, rice cereal, not oatmeal that’s filled with butter and sugar. You’re going to upset his stomach and I’M the one that will be left to clean up the poopie diapers.”

Arnold wipes Phillip’s spit off his finger as he looks at Helga. His words soften as he sees the sorrow that hides deep in her eyes. “Helga, what’s the real problem here?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” She says through a small huff.

He gets up and moves to the other side of the table, sitting down next to her. Putting an arm around her shoulders, he lifts her chin, forcing her to look at him. “I think you do. Come on, what’s really bothering you?”

Looking at him she gives up as her shoulders droop. Leaning her back into his chest, a quiver comes to her voice as she spits out the real problem as she mocks what people have been telling her. “It’s all this talk about ‘how fast time is going’, and ‘how big Phillip is getting’. How he’ll ‘be eating solid food soon and before you know it and heading off to preschool soon’. Why can’t people just let him be a baby, and stop trying to rush him growing up?”

Arnold wraps his arms around her giving her a squeeze, sympathizing with her sorrows. “Aww, Helga, people don’t mean anything by it. They’re just making conversation.”

She sits up straighter, using her napkin to dry her eyes. “I know that, Arnold, but – is this how life is going to be from now on? I know I complain about this a lot, and I know I said I was going to do my best to just live in the moment, but I just can’t help it, it’s hard. And it doesn’t help when everyone around me wants to rush it when I’m not ready. I wish, I wish I had the power to slow time down. Not stop it, just slow down the special moments and stop everything from becoming this jumbled mass of emotions and milestones and good times and bad, all mushed together into this stew of memories.”

Arnold becomes contemplative as he does his best to make her feel better. “Maybe it would help if you didn’t think of life as a stew. Everything thrown together so you lose the uniqueness of each moment. Try thinking of life more as a pie, with each day its own tiny slice, and each slice of that life its own memory so at the end of the day the memories become more of a treasured dessert at the end of a big meal. 

Helga thinks about this for a moment. “Take life one slice at a time. I like that. But then what happens when you finally run out of pie?”

“Well, then, like a nice dessert after a full meal, you should feel content and happy, and hopefully ready to say ‘that sure was one delicious pie’.”

She smiles as she leans back into his chest once more. Closing her eyes she listens to the soothing beat of his heart. It takes a moment before she is able to speak. “Arnold,” she finally says, her words soft and quiet.

“Yeah, Helga?” He says into her ear.

“I love you.”

She can feel the movement of his lips on her ear as they form into a smile. “I love you too, Helga.”


	78. Chapter 78

He sits at his desk, looking at the picture that Sid took of them last December up at the lake. He notices just how small Phillip looks and he wonders if he can follow his own advice of not getting caught up in the swift passage of time. He’s starting to feel a little depressed and he needs something to snap him out of it. Remembering the picture he took of himself earlier that morning, he pulls out his phone. With a giggle, he pulls up the picture, hitting the share tab and placing it into a text message, he adds a quick note. “Just a little something to brighten your day”, and sends it off.

It takes all of two minutes for him to receive a reply. “Thanks a lot, I had just gotten myself to forget the image of you in that towel. Now I’ll have to start all over again. Maybe I’ll just have to hit up our ‘toy’ drawer without you.”

His eyes grow wide as he lets out a laugh, immediately texting her back. “Don’t you dare hit up the toy drawer without me! You’d better wait for me to get home!”

Her second reply is just as quick as her first. “Oh, yeah? And what if I don’t? You’ll never know.”

He gets her message, his fingers flying across the phone’s keyboard. “Oh I’ll know alright. I’ll be able to tell by your level of horniness once I get home.”

Another ding, and he opens her reply. “Well then you’d better come straight home after work, cause I ain’t waiting all day!”

He sends one final message, putting the matter to rest. “I think I feel a sore throat coming on, I may need to leave work early. Be ready.”

He sits behind his desk laughing when Gerald comes busting through his door, startling him. Gerald gives Arnold a strange look as he walks up to his desk. “Yo, Arnold my man, take it easy. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Arnold slips his phone in his pocket as he stands up. “That’s okay, Gerald, I was just texting with Helga and didn’t hear you, or the bell for that matter.”

“Oh man, I didn’t interrupt you sexting with your wife did I.” Gerald asks through a grimace.

Arnold is quick to answer. “NO! Nothing like that. I was just letting her know that I may leave work a little on the early side today is all.”

“Man, it must be nice being able to make your own schedule like that. Not like us slave teachers that have to stay until the very last bell rings.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t do it too often because I never know when a student is going to want to drop by, but as long as I have no set appointments, I do sneak out every once in a while. Just don’t tell Dunn, okay?”

Gerald crosses his heart then holds his finger up in his best “boy scout” salute. “He’ll never hear it from me, I promise. Now, how about some lunch, I’m starving.”

“Sure, whatever you say, Gerald. I’m pretty hungry myself.”

xxxxx

The cafeteria is pretty full as Tonya and Charles carry their trays, looking for an empty table. Just as they are about to give up they notice a small, two person table open up at the far corner of the room. Swerving her way between her hungry schoolmates, Tonya reaches the table a split second before an anxious couple has a chance to grab it. She plops her tray down, claiming the table as hers. The girl gives Tonya a catty glare as she turns to walk away, her boyfriend following dutifully behind her. Charles sets his tray down, smiling at Tonya.

“Way to go, you should go out for the football team with dodging skills like that. You’d take the ball clear across the field to score a touchdown every time.”

She smiles at the picture his words conger up in her head. “Heh, can you see me, dressed in full uniform, black grease paint under my eyes? No thanks.”

“I’m sure you’d be the cutest jock on the field. Speaking of jocks, how’d your date go last Saturday night?”

Tonya heaves a sigh as she moves a cherry tomato around in her salad. “Eh, okay, I guess. Some of his friends were at the theater and when they saw him they came over and sat with us. The chucklehead didn’t even think to tell them he was on a date and to leave. So I basically sat there as he hung out with his friends.”

Charles takes a bite of his mystery meat burger. “I don’t know why you waste your time chasing after him like you do. You could do way better.”

Tonya takes offense at Charles’s criticism of Blake. “Oh, and what would YOU know about what’s good for me and what isn’t?”

He holds his hands, palms out, in front of him, “Nothing, I’m just making an observation is all. I mean, I’ve seen you chase after this guy for years now and to what avail? I would think that at some point you’d get tired of it and start broadening your horizons. You know, cast your net out there and see what else you can come up with.”

“Maybe I don’t want to come up with anything else, ever think about that?”

“Or maybe you’re just scared”

A look of shock comes over her face at his accusation. “Scared? Scared of what?”

“Scared of what you might actually find. Scared of finding someone actually worthy of getting into a relationship with only to find out that relationships are hard and you might fail. So instead of taking a real risk, you chase after something you know deep down is unattainable but at the same time safe. Because you can’t fail in a relationship you’re not really in, can you.” 

He’s hitting a nerve and Tonya doesn’t like it. She doesn’t want to lose her temper with Charles, but she can’t help it so she goes for a below the belt punch. “Ha! As if you’re one to talk. What do YOU know about relationships? When was the last time YOU had anyone wanting to be with you?”

If making him see red was what she was going for, then she succeeded in her mission. He slams his fist down on the table as he talks. “I know a lot more about how to treat a lady than that Neanderthal you’ve been chasing after since grade school. Starting with not ignoring her while on a date. Tell me, Tonya, how did that make you feel? To sit there forgotten while he laughed with his buddies? How about after the date? Did he get what he wanted off you, leaving you to sit and wonder afterwards if he’ll even so much as drop you a thank you text?”

He’s crossed a line, and he knows it the minute the first tear falls from her cheek into her salad. Pushing her lunch tray across the table, she stands up, yelling at him before running off. “How can you say that to me? I hate you Charles Larsen, I hate you!”

He gets up trying to stop her as she runs off. He grabs onto her arm but she pulls free, leaving him to sit alone as the rest of the room stares at him, talking through whispers over what they’ve just witnessed. Pissed at himself for saying what he did, he gets up from the table and quickly leaves the cafeteria as a sea of eyes follow him out. 

xxxxx

Time moves slowly after lunch as Arnold sits in his office rereading his earlier text conversation with Helga. With only an hour left until last bell, he rechecks his calendar, making sure that he’s not forgetting any last minute appointments. Sure that he’s in the clear, he gathers up a file he’s been working on and puts it in his briefcase on the off chance that he may find time to work on it once at home. He passes Heather as he checks his mailbox and lets her know that he’s leaving for the day, making up the excuse of having an appointment with the parents of a student, just in case Dunn comes looking for him. 

Once in his car and out of the parking lot he revels in the sense of freedom that comes over him and wishes it were actually Friday and not just Wednesday. He thinks to text Helga and let her know he’s on his way home, but decides to surprise her instead. When he gets to the boarding house he leaves his car in the driveway so Helga doesn’t hear the garage door open, and he very carefully sneaks in the back door. 

Quietly looking for her, he sees her as she stands by her desk in the family room. She’s lost in thought as she looks out the window, most likely looking for inspiration he assumes. He doesn’t see Phillip anywhere and figures he must be upstairs in his crib. He tiptoes over to her, not making a sound. Throwing his hands over her eyes he lets out a “guess who”, startling her. Her instincts kick into automatic pilot as she reaches behind herself, grabbing his head and pulling him into her. As he’s pulled forward she turns slightly to the side, just enough to dig her shoulder into him and with a pull of her hands and a lift of her body, she flips him onto his back forcing a loud “OOFF!” To escape him. She drops a knee to his neck and is about to plant her fist into his face when she sees who it is that she has pinned beneath her. 

“Arnold!” She yells as she jumps off of him. “Criminy, you scared the crap out of me! Are you alright?” She reaches down, grabbing his arm to help him up.

A bit dazed he shakes his head as she leads him over to the couch. “Yeah, I’m fine, just give me a minute to catch my breath.”

Helga searches his body with worried eyes as she makes sure he’s okay. “What on earth would possess you to sneak up on me like that? I thought you were an intruder.”

Arnold rubs his head as the stars he had been seeing start to fade. “I just wanted to surprise you. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She starts to giggle as she sits down next to him causing him to become a bit annoyed. “What’s so funny?” He says, a bit embarrassed over being taken down by his wife.

She can’t contain herself and talks between fits of laughter. “It’s, it’s just, the look on your face as you were going down, and then your eyes. They got as big as saucers when my fist started to come down on your face. It’s a good thing I recognized who it was I was attacking in time.”

“Yeah, go ahead and laugh. The only reason you got the better of me was because I wasn’t ready for it. If I had expected you to go all mad dog on me you’d have never gotten me on the floor.”

“S-sure, Arnold, whatever you say. Are you sure you’re okay?” She says as she gently kisses his forehead. “Do I need to kiss your boo-boo and make it all better?”

With the little misunderstanding all but forgotten, he looks at her and smiles. “You’ve never called it a boo-boo before, but if it floats your boat, I can get used to it.”

With an eager smile she loosens his necktie, before starting to unbutton his shirt. “Well, we’ll have to make sure there’s no hidden bruises. I’m afraid I’ll have to check your whole body. Does it hurt here?” She asks as she kisses the side of his neck.

“No”, he says as he slips his arms out of his shirtsleeves. “It’s a little lower than that.”

“Oh, well what about here?” Her kisses trail across his chest as her hands unbuckle his belt.

“No, not there either.” His hands caress her back as she slips a little further down.

“Oh, I didn’t hurt your belly button did I?” She asks as she blows a light raspberry into his stomach, tickling him.

“Still too high.” He says as he starts to find it hard to speak.

With his belt undone, she slowly unbuttons his pants, sliding the zipper down. Sliding the rest of his clothes down his legs she gives him a look of surprise. “Well, here’s your problem, you’re all swollen and stiff. We need to do something to get that swelling down, but what?”

His voice is deep and breathy as he thinks of a solution. “Well, you did say you were going to kiss all my boo-boos and make them better, didn’t you?”

She slowly slides her hand up and down his swollen “boo-boo”. “I did, but I don’t think a mere kiss will take care of this.” 

Slipping out of her own pants, she climbs on top of him. Holding him firmly, she guides him into her, a soft moan escaping her as she lets her body start the healing process. “We have to make sure you’re good and deep so the medicine can do its work.”

He grabs onto her hips, his fingers digging into her skin as she rides him, her body clinging to him, massaging him as she glides up and down. “How will we know when I’m cured?” He barely manages to get the words out between moans.

“Oh, you’ll know it when it happens, but for now, just enjoy the ride.”

Heeding her words, he hangs on, letting her body do its job. She changes up the pace from fast to slow. She teases him by briefly pulling all the way up, exposing him to the cold air before slamming back down, enveloping him in warmth. Knowing her lover, she recognizes when he’s about to let go into her, and she listens to his moans as they pick up in intensity. Increasing her pace she rides him into the home stretch. The increased motion causes a tightening in the pit of her stomach right before she lets go with a yell, her juices flowing down on him, the added warmth too much for him to handle. Unable to hold off any longer he explodes inside of her, his fluids mingling with hers. 

She collapses on top of him, the quickness of her breathing keeping pace with his. They lay like that for a while as they catch their breath. Eventually she shifts her body, causing him to limply slip out of her. She looks down, letting out a hearty “The procedure was a success, you are no longer swollen!”

He looks down and laughs. “Ah, the wonders of modern medicine.”

She grows a bit serious with him as she sits up and reaches for her pants. “Really, though, be more careful the next time you think about sneaking up on me. I could have broken your nose or something.”

“Okay, next time I’ll make sure I have more time to duck out of the way.

“Or how about not sneaking up on me at all? I swear, when I didn’t know who you were the first thing that ran through my head was Phillip all alone upstairs while some stranger was in our house. I went totally into mama bear mode.”

“Oh, geeze, Helga, I didn’t even think about you worrying over Phillip! I’m sorry. Okay, no more sneaking up on you when you think you’re alone in the house.”

As if he heard his name being called, Phillip’s voice rings loud and clear over the baby monitor. Helga and Arnold look at each other as they get up and walk hand in hand up the stairs.

“You know,” Helga says as they walk, “Once Phillip is up and walking, and no longer taking naps, we’re not going to be able to just drop our pants and get crazy whenever and where ever we want.”

Arnold gives her a contemplative look. “Oh, I don’t know about that. We’ll just have to learn to be more creative with our timing.”

“Heh, something I’m sure you’ll have no problem doing.”

With a kiss and a wink he smiles down at her. “That’s a challenge I’m most definitely looking forward to.”


	79. Chapter 79

The school is rather subdued on this Thursday afternoon as Tonya walks slowly to her locker. She’s accompanied by Denise, the two chat idly as they stroll. They discuss the long weekend that looms in front of them. Four glorious days with nothing to worry about, no assignments needing to be turned in, no big tests to study for. Tonya has planned for the girls to come over to her house for a sleepover right after school, and the two friends discuss the various options for the night’s menu as Tonya works the combination to her locker. Once opened she throws her books onto the top shelf, storing them for the weekend. She closes the door when her phone lets loose with a bubbly “Ping”, notifying her of an incoming text message. She looks at the number, but doesn’t recognize it. Opening the message, she silently reads it.

“Hear my soul speak.  
Of the very instant that I saw you,  
Did my heart fly at your service, there resides  
To make me slave to it, and for your sake  
Am I this patient log-man.”

She stares at her phone, wondering just who would have sent her such a message. 

Annoyed at being ignored, Denise gives Tonya a nudge with her elbow. “Have you even been listening to anything I’ve been saying?”

“What? Oh, I’m sorry Denise. No, I didn’t hear you. I was reading this.” She hands Denise her phone.

“Hmm, that’s Shakespeare. Who’s the text from?”

Tonya gives her a confused look. “I don’t know, it just showed up on my phone.”

“Well, hit the call button and see who answers.”

“Good idea, Denise. I should have thought of that.” She places the phone on speaker and hits the call back button. They hear the beeps as the number is dialed and wait for it to start ringing. It’s picked up after only one ring, but what they hear is not a person, but a recording telling them that the number they have reached is not in service and to check the number they have dialed and try again.

The look at each other then back down at the phone. “That’s way weird.” Denise says, a little freaked out.

“Tell me about it.” Tonya replies as the hairs on her arm start to stand up. 

They give a jump and a slight shout as Blake comes up from out of nowhere, looking over Tonya’s shoulder. “Whoa, chill ladies. I know I have the power to take a girl’s breath away, but you don’t have to overdo it.”

“It’s not you, Blake.” Denise says, “We were just looking at something on Tonya’s phone.

“Oh yeah?” He says, his curiosity piqued. “Anything exciting?”

Denise is about to answer when Tonya breaks in. “No! Nothing exciting, just girl stuff that you wouldn’t be interested in.” For whatever reason, she doesn’t want Blake to know about the mysterious message, so she changes the subject. “So, any exciting plans for the long weekend?” She’s hoping her question will prompt him to ask her out, but she is sorely disappointed.

“Oh hell yeah, me and the boys are going camping up at Hawk Mountain. No distractions, just us men surviving off of whatever we can hunt or scavenge.”

“Heh,” Denise huffs, “Twenty bucks says you guys won’t last more than 24 hours.”

Blake gives her a bit of a scowl. “I’d take you up on that bet but I was raised never to take advantage of a lady. Well, you two have fun this weekend. I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

“Yeah,” Tonya says, a bit disappointed, “I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

Once he’s out of hearing range Denise looks at Tonya. “You know, other than his looks, I don’t really get what you see in that guy.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t understand. Come on, we’ve got supplies to stock up on before the other girls get to my house. We’d better get going.”

As they leave the school Tonya shoves her phone deep into her pocket, the mysterious message forgotten for the time being.

xxxxx

With the work week behind him, and a four day weekend to look forward to, Arnold happily walks through the back door of the boarding house. Not wanting a repeat of yesterday’s little mishap, he makes sure to announce his arrival. “Daddy’s home!” He yells as he sets his briefcase on the kitchen table.

“We’re in the family room.” Helga yells back. Arnold grabs a beer out of the fridge, and a Yahoo soda for Helga on his way out of the kitchen.

“Here, I thought you might like to join me in a cold one.” He says as he hands her the soda before joining her and Phillip on the floor.

“Gee, thanks.” She says as she takes the soda from him. She watches Arnold as he takes a deep swig from his beer, licking her lips as he swallows. “I swear, the minute I’m done nursing Phillip you’re taking me out for Mexican food and I’m ordering the spiciest dish they serve, and a couple of the biggest Margaritas they sell to wash it all down.”

He looks at her as he takes another swallow of his beer. “I’d say something about how it won’t be long before he’s totally weaned, but I wouldn’t want you getting all depressed again.”

“Yeah it won’t be long, not with the way you and Gerald keep trying to sneak him solid foods.”

“Hey, I’m only looking out for him, I mean, someone has to have his back. It’s got to be boring having the same thing day in and day out for every meal. Isn’t that right Philly Boy.” Arnold says as he gives his son’s belly a rub, causing the child to laugh.

Phillip reaches his hands out to his father, motioning to be picked up. Setting his beer down, Arnold obliges and props his son on his lap, giving him a bounce or two. Switching his grasp to under Phillip’s arms, he holds the boy up so he’s standing on his daddy’s thighs. Phillip gives his legs a bend at the knee, then pushes himself up. Discovering a new way to play, Phillip laughs as he repeats the process over and over, much to his parent’s delight. 

Suddenly Helga gives a snap of her fingers. “Oh, before I forget, I heard back from Carlos, you know, from the publishing company. You met him last weekend at the book signing.”

Arnold casts his memory back to the previous Saturday, becoming slightly annoyed. “Yeah, I remember him, the dude with the slicked back hair and phony accent.”

Helga gives him an amused look. “Why Arnold Shortman, are you jealous?”

He tries hard not to let his annoyance show. “What? No. Why would I be jealous of that wannabe Latin lover?”

Helga lets out a laugh. “Ha! You ARE jealous. Wow, you wear the green well, it’s totally matches your eyes.”

“I am NOT jealous. Anyway, so what did he have to say?”

“Well, it seems that things went better than expected last Saturday and they want to set up a few more book signings in some of the neighboring towns. If those go well I could be traveling as far as possibly Eugene or Los Angeles.”

Arnold stops bouncing Phillip on his leg and holds him close as he looks at Helga. “Los Angeles? That’s so far away. Why would you have to go all the way down there?”

“Publicity, Arnold. It’s what writers do, especially if you want to get your name out there. Besides, it’s not like it’s New York or something.”

“But Los Angeles. Will Carlos be going to LA too?”

“I don’t know, probably since I’ve been assigned to him. It’s his job to oversee things. Anyway, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. LA is only a possibility, it’s not set in stone.”

She pats his leg as she gets up, taking Phillip from him. “So, we still on for meeting Gerald at Big Al’s for dinner?”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. I guess we should get ready.”

As they walk up the stairs Helga sets down a list of rules for the evening. “So, while at dinner, no more talk of Carlos and NO feeding Phillip grown up foods, got it?”

“Yes dear, whatever you say.” Arnold complies, happy to push the thought of Helga on the road with Carlos out of his mind.”

xxxxx

They arrive at the restaurant a little ahead of Gerald and take a seat in the waiting area, Phillip contentedly sitting in his carrier as he takes in the sights and sounds of the restaurant. They only have to wait a few minutes for Gerald to come walking through the door. Looking up, a large smile comes across Helga’s face. Seeing this, Arnold follows her gaze to see Phoebe standing next to an ecstatic Gerald. Arnold stands in surprise, holding out his arms to greet Phoebe.

“Phoebe! Hi, I didn’t know you were back in town.” He gives Gerald a ‘why didn’t you tell me’ look to which Gerald just shrugs his shoulders.

“I didn’t know myself that she was coming, it was a complete surprise. She just showed up in my apartment when I got home from work.”

“Yep, I wanted to surprise Gerald, so it was a good thing he gave me a key to his apartment before I left or else I would have been stuck waiting in the hallway for him to get home.”

Arnold watches Helga with suspicion as she steps in, giving her best friend a tight hug. “You knew about this, didn’t you?” He states as he points a finger at her.

“Of course I did, we had it all planned out.”

A bit hurt at not being let into the loop, Arnold gives Helga a slight pout. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Helga scoffs as she dismisses his question with a wave of her hand. “Because, Arnoldo, Phoebe wanted it to be a secret, that’s why.”

“And you don’t think I can keep a secret?”

“Of course not. If you knew Phoebe was coming then the second you saw Gerald you’d break out in that goofy grin you get and it’d be all over. You’d be confessing to Gerald in a second.”

“Hey, I can keep a secret just as well as the next guy.”

“Surrre, Arnoldo, you keep telling yourself that.”

Not wanting the friends bickering to get out of hand, Gerald plays peacemaker and he stands between them, arms draped over both of their shoulders. “Mmm-mm-mm, you two sound like an old, married couple. Who cares if my man is a little lax in the secret keeping department?”

To this Arnold lets out a loud “Hey!” causing Gerald to hold up his hand, cutting him off. “All that really matters is that I get to spend the next four days…” He turns now, giving his fiancée a slight leer, “and nights, with the woman that I love. Now, the both of you, kiss and make up so we can get our grub on. I’m starving.”

Looking at each other, both Arnold and Helga give a chuckle while partaking in an apologetic kiss when they hear their name being called by the waitress. “Shortman, party of five?” Picking up Phillip’s carrier, Arnold leads the way as the group walks to their table. 

They sit happily as they eat their dinner, the atmosphere surrounding them is light and carefree. Gerald watches Phoebe as she interacts with Helga and Arnold, once again grateful for her forgiveness. He hates to think of just where he’d be right now if Phoebe had turned her back on him that weekend he went to visit her, casting him out into the cold night. He breaks a piece of a French fry off, squishing the soft middle between his thumb and forefinger. He is about to lift it to Phillip’s mouth when he hears a sinister voice call out his name.

“Gerald Martin Johanssen, if you as much as think about giving my son that piece of fry, then I swear, I will take that burger that is sitting in front of you and shove it up your nose!”

It’s not so much the calling of his name that makes Gerald’s finger stop in midair, it’s more the fact that it was all three of his names being used in the same sentence. Much to Phillip’s chagrin, Gerald drops his finger guiltily to his lap, wiping it in his napkin and leaving the boy sitting propped up in his highchair, mouth hanging open. With the promise of his tasty treat being abruptly taken away from him, Phillip lets out with a wail that has the whole restaurant turning towards them. 

Helga glares at Gerald. “Now look at what you’ve done.”

In his defense, Gerald holds up his hands in front of him. “Hey, everything was perfectly fine until you got mad at me. I still don’t see what a little bit of potato would hurt. It’d be good for the boy, put some meat on his bones.”

Helga unstraps her screaming child, releasing him from the highchair. She rocks him in her seat in an effort to calm him down. “And I’ve told you to stop trying to rush my child’s growing up.”

She didn’t mean to say that, her words now betraying her real fears. Gerald notices a hint of sadness in her face and let’s up a bit. “Oh, okay. I see where it’s at. I’m sorry. No more pushing the solids on my man.”

Helga gives her friend a quiet “thank you” as she begins to lift the bottom of her shirt. Gerald’s eyes grow wide as she does so.

“Uh, what are you doing, Helga?” He says, almost afraid of what her answer will be.

“What does it look like? I need to get Phillip to stop crying, I’m going to try nursing him.”

“What? Here, in the middle of the restaurant?”

“Uh, yeah. He needs to eat too, ya know.”

Having lifted her shirt a bit, she starts to reach up inside of it in an effort to unlatch the front panel of her nursing bra. Gerald adverts his eyes and gives a grimace as she does so. “Whoa, whoa, hold up there. Don’t you think you should at least cover yourself up first?”

Helga looks at him, a bit surprised over his reaction. “Relax, Geraldo, no one can see anything. My shirt will cover everything up. Criminy, and I thought you were a boob man.”

“Boobs, yes, but not lactating milk factories.”

Phoebe gives Gerald a sharp kick under the table as Arnold busts out with a hearty laugh. Helga just looks at him before pulling a light baby blanket out of Phillip’s diaper bag, spreading it over her and her hungry child. “There, better?”

A much relieved Gerald gives her a low “Yes, thank you” before picking up his burger and taking a bite. 

Eager for a subject change, Arnold turns to Phoebe. “So, Phoebe, you have any special plans for the weekend?”

“Oh, yes!” She chirps out, her face glowing with excitement. “I will be spending Saturday with Helga and my mom trying on wedding dresses, mostly just to see what’s out there and what style looks the best on me. I’m not actually ready to buy yet.”

He turns to Helga, giving her a raise of his eyebrow. “And you had all of this planned without telling me too?”

She returns his look with a smirk. “Yep, we’ve had it planned for weeks.”

Again the pout returns to his face. “I could have kept that a secret too, ya know.”

Helga just gives him a smile as she pats his shoulder. “Sure, Arnoldo, you keep telling yourself that.”

Arnold looks to Gerald for support. “Come on Bro, help a fella out here.”

Gerald just shakes his head. “Hey, what can I say? The little woman’s got a point.”

Seeing the annoyed look Gerald’s ‘little woman’ comment has put on Helga’s face, Phoebe starts to giggle, causing the rest of the table to look at her. “What’s so funny?” the group blurts out in unison.

“N-nothing,” Phoebe says through her giggles, “It’s just so good to be back home, even if it is just for a little while.”

The friends all look at each other, laughing over how silly they must have sounded, once again happy in each other’s company.


	80. Chapter 80

Arnold sits on the family room floor with Phillip laying stretched out on his belly next to him, a soft, baby blue blanket protecting the child from the worn carpet underneath. Resting just out of Phillip’s reach is his favorite toy. It beckons to the child like a siren, challenging him to come and get it. Phillip reaches out as far as he can, determined grunts helping him to stretch that extra quarter inch. He rests now on his forearms and pushes himself up, his chest hovering inches off the floor. Unfortunately for the child, his weight is not distributed evenly and with the next push of his arms he begins to roll to one side. He comes to rest against his father’s thigh, and does not have the know how to roll himself back onto his tummy. 

He cranes his neck, turning his head until he sees his toy. It sits there, mocking him as tries to reach out to it. Frustrated, he lets out a scream, his tiny hands clenched in fits of infant rage. He hears his father’s voice as the man tries to soothe him, and he feels a strong hand gently roll him back onto his stomach. For all the effort the child has put forth in the pursuance of his toy, he is no closer now than he was before. He lays there studying the matter when he sees his father’s hand grab the far end of the blanket, placing it over the toy. The boy is confused as he lay there, searching desperately for his now lost toy. He doesn’t understand how it can be there one minute, then gone completely from sight the next. His face starts to scrunch up as his bottom lip comes out in a pout. He hears his father’s voice flowing over his head.

“Aww, don’t cry Phillip, here let daddy fix it for you.”

Slowly his father’s hand reaches out, grabbing the blanket and flicking it back to the way it was. Like magic his toy is once again sitting before him. His father bringing it back from the abyss it had fallen into. With wide eyes Phillip looks up to his father, giving him a look that says “What is this sorcery that thou doth wield to bring yon toy back to me?”

Arnold laughs at the look his son gives him as he lays down next to him. Propping his head up with one hand, he reaches out with the other, pushing Phillip’s toy closer to him. Now at the proper distance, Phillip is able to reach out and grab it. He immediately brings it to his mouth as he rolls onto his back. His body lined up with Arnold’s. As he looks up Arnold tilts his head down until his lips meet with his son’s forehead. He looks into Phillip’s eyes which shine with adoration that is laced with just a hint of mischief as the boy raises the toy, bopping his father on the forehead. Arnold lets go with a playful “Hey!” which causes Phillip to giggle and whack him again, the child’s giggles becoming belly laughs.

By the third strike Arnold gently takes his son’s hand, holding it down by his side. “Okay, Philly.” He softly says, “Enough of that for now.” He’s answered with a series of coos and gurgles as the boy brings the toy to his mouth once again.

Arnold hadn’t noticed Helga as she stood, arms folded across her chest, watching the last couple minutes of their play. She nudges his foot, gaining his attention as she joins them on the floor. “Now this is a sight I could sit and look at all day. I do have to say, though, he’s got a pretty good left hook going on there.”

Arnold rubs his forehead. “You can say that again, he’s just like his mother.”

“Well good for him, he’ll grow up knowing how to take care of himself.”

“Just as long as he learns how to control it. We don’t need a mini Wolfgang on our hands when he reaches school age.”

“Oh, I have a feeling you’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. So, you sure you and Gerald will be okay with Phillip while Phoebe and I are out dress shopping?”

“Yep, it’s been a while since we’ve had a guy’s day, so we’re due for one.”

“Okay, good. Then I’m gonna be going. Gerald is dropping Phoebe at her parent’s house before coming here, and I’m walking over and meeting her there.” Getting up she kisses both her men. “Call me if you need anything.” She yells as she heads out of the room.

Once she’s gone Arnold turns his attention back to his son who has fallen asleep on his back, his toy lying next to his face in a puddle of drool.

xxxxx

Helga stands among the many racks of bridal dresses searching for what she feels would be the perfect dress for the blushing bride to be. Phoebe already knew a ball gown was out of the question because she felt that she was just too petite to pull off the full skirt, and the last thing she wanted was to appear even shorter than she already was. The next look on the list was the mermaid. It took her friend going through practically every mermaid style dress the store had to finally decide that that just wasn’t the right cut of dress for her either. It made for an exhausting three hours, but at least Phoebe could now cross those particular styles off her list, helping to narrow the search down some. 

They are looking at the A-line’s now and Helga finds a beautiful gown in virgin white. It is sleeveless with a sweetheart neckline and a fitted bodice that is covered in a delicate lace and sparkly beading that flows all the way down to the scalloped hem. Looking at the back she counts at least forty delicate buttons that trail down to the waistline. It is the dress of Helga’s childhood dreams and it takes her breath away.

Reba sees the look in Helga’s eyes as she stares at the dress and walks over to her.

“My, that’s a beautiful dress.” Reba says with a slight southern accent.

With a sigh Helga nods her head in agreement. “Isn’t it though. I don’t know if it’s to Phoebe’s liking, but I just couldn’t resist pulling it out to look at it.”

Hearing her name being mentioned, Phoebe joins the two women, looking at the dress Helga holds up in front of her. “Oh, Helga, what a beautiful dress. You should try it on for fun.”

Helga’s eyes grow wide as an embarrassed flush fills her cheeks. “Oh no, I couldn’t, and besides, this is your day. You’re the one in the market for a wedding dress, not me.”

Phoebe gives her friend a smile. “I know, but I’m tired of trying on dresses, I need a break. Besides, you can be my model so I can see what the dress looks like on a person and not just a hanger. What do you say?”

Helga looks to Reba hoping she’ll take her side but is disappointed. “I agree with Phoebe, it’s your turn to model a few dresses.”

“I don’t know….” Helga says as she is pushed towards Phoebe’s changing room. Once inside she is met with a dress consultant who helps her into the gown. Once the consultant finally finished buttoning up the back she swept Helga’s hair up into a quick bun. Leading Helga out to the viewing area she has her step up to a small stage in front of where Phoebe and her mother sit. A hand comes to Phoebe’s lips when she sees her friend standing in front of her. 

The consultant sees the look on Phoebe’s face and smiles. “Oh, this is nothing dear, just wait until we jack her up a bit. Hold on, I’ll be right back.” 

As they wait for the consultant Helga holds her hands out to her sides. “So, what do you think?”

“It certainly is a beautiful dress.” Reba says, with Phoebe in total agreement.

A minute later the consultant returns and begins to work on Helga. The first thing she does is hand Helga a bouquet of silk flowers before placing a short strand of pearls around her neck. The final touch comes when she places a long veil on Helga’s head. It is of the same virgin white, with matching lace that runs down it. The edges are scalloped to match the hem at the bottom of the gown, and the whole thing trails a good four feet behind Helga. 

Once everything is in place she has Helga turn towards the full length mirror so she can get a good look at herself. There is a catch in her breath the second her eyes turn towards her reflection. She stands looking at herself in disbelief. Here she is, in the dress of her childhood dreams, the dress she would see herself wear every time she’d fantasize about standing at the alter with her beloved Arnold.

Phoebe sees the look on Helga’s face and quickly pulls out her phone, snapping a picture to capture the moment. Pulling up the image she can see the wistful look on her friend’s face as she looks at herself. She quickly sends Arnold a copy of the picture with the caption, “Your Beautiful Bride”. 

Giving her head a shake, Helga comes back to reality and turns back to Phoebe and Reba. “So, uh, Pheebs, do you think something like this is what you’re looking for?”

“It’s a beautiful dress, however I’m still not sure. But it is definitely worth keeping in mind.”

Hearing Phoebe’s hesitation, the consultant is quick to step in. “Well there’s still lots of other styles to try. Have you ever thought of a shorter tea length dress? Let me pull a few styles out for you while you help your friend out of the dress she’s wearing. I’ll meet you in the dressing room.”

With Reba following the consultant back to the racks of dresses, Phoebe and Helga head towards the dressing room. Once inside Phoebe brings up the subject of Helga and Arnold’s wedding. “Uh, Helga, I was just wondering. Do you ever feel sorry that you and Arnold never had a traditional wedding?”

Helga thinks about the question as she hangs up the gown she had just taken off. “You know, Pheebs, I honestly never really gave it any thought until I stood there, looking at myself in the mirror just now.”

“If you had the chance, would you go back and change things?”

Helga shakes her head as she slips her legs into her jeans. “No, I don’t think I would. I still think that a big wedding wasn’t worth being separated from Arnold for four years. If we hadn’t of gotten married when we did my dad would have probably insisted that I go to one of those fancy east coast schools, knowing full well that there was no way Arnold would have been able to afford to go there too. With the intensity of an ivy league college and the distance, it would have been difficult to plan a wedding and again, there was no way I was going to be separated from Arnold that long.”

“So you have no regrets?”

“Nope, not one. Oh don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t easy starting married life in the dorms. Those were some pretty cramped quarters, and we can’t forget the added stress we put on ourselves to make sure we graduated in only four years regardless of what our counselors suggested.”

She leans against the wall as she slips her feet into her shoes and gives a small chuckle. “Heh, I remember one time while we were still in the dorms. Oh how small those rooms were. I remember we took the two separate twin beds and pushed them together against one wall so we could sleep together. Then we set the rest of the room up so we each had our own study corner. That’s where we each put our desk and dresser. There was one small closet and I remember thinking that it was a good thing that I wasn’t a fashionista like Rhonda or I’d never have survived. Anyway, it was around the first semester of our second year, and the stress was starting to build. Mid-terms were approaching and Arnold had this group project that he was involved in. The group was headed up by this bitch of a girl that had her eye on him, knowing full well that he was already married. I think her name was Sandy, or Sonia or something like that. Now I know I had nothing to worry about when it came to Arnold being faithful, but, well, you know how I am.”

Phoebe gives a small giggle. “Oh yes, I know indeed.”

“Yeah, well, things were stressful for me, too, and the pressure just kept building. Then one night we had made plans to actually go off campus to this nice restaurant for dinner, just to take a breath and reconnect to each other. You know, put the stress behind us and just concentrate on us for a couple of hours, when I get a text from Arnold saying that we were going to have to reschedule dinner because Sandy/Sonia insisted that she needed to get together with him to work on their part of the group project. Well, as you can imagine, I was livid. I sat in that room all night, pacing what little floor space there was until I finally got the idea of showing Arnold how I really felt. So I took one of the beds and moved it to the other side of the room, taking his desk and dresser and placing them between both beds.”

“Oh, Helga, that seems like a bit of an over-reaction. Don’t you think?”

“Of course it was, but I was pissed, besides, you know how I get where Arnold is concerned. Anyway, so it’s the wee hours of the night when Arnold finally makes it back to the dorm room, only to find me sleeping alone in my bed at the other end of the room. He tried to wake me up to talk about it and I lit into him, making all kinds of silly accusations until he finally stormed off and went to his own bed. I laid there, listening to him sleep, and started to feel just awful about the things I had said to him. So I got up and started struggling to move the furniture back to the way it was. After a bit he gets out of bed, and without saying a word he helps me move the beds back together and we just lay there in each other’s arms until we both fell back asleep.”

Phoebe looks at her friend with sympathetic eyes. “Was it ever talked about again after that?”

A large smile appears on Helga’s face. “Oh yeah it was, the next morning, right after the best make-up sex we’ve ever had. And, I’m happy to say, that that was the worse of the fights we’d ever had during those four years. Yeah, it was tough, but I have no regrets and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Phoebe looks at her friend with admiration when there comes a knock at the door. It’s Reba and she’s loaded down with at least six tea-length wedding dresses. “Knock, knock, are you ready for round two Phoebe dear?”

The two girls look at each other and smile. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” Phoebe chirps as her mother enters the dressing room.

“Well, I’ll let you two take it from here.” Helga says as she leaves the room and heads back to the viewing area where the next two hours are spent discussing the pros and cons of each new dress.

xxxxx

It’s a little after noon time as Arnold and Gerald sit at the kitchen table, eating a couple of hoagies that they whipped up from some leftover lunch meats they found in the refrigerator. Phillip sits strapped into his highchair and eyes the potato salad that sits on his Uncle Gerald’s plate. He gives a small squawk as his eyes move from Gerald to the potato salad.

“Oh no Little Dude.” Gerald says when he sees what the boy is staring at. “Your mother will kill me if she finds out I gave you potato salad.”

In an effort to help stave off Phillip’s growing appetite, and as a compromise to Arnold wanting to feed his son more solid food, Helga has agreed to start the boy on baby cereal. It’s diluted with breast milk and very runny, but has a bit more substance to it than milk alone. Arnold holds a bottle of it up to him now hoping he’ll take it, but the potato salad is just too tempting, so Phillip pushes it away with his hand as he scrunches up his face. The battle goes on for a few minutes when a text comes across Arnold’s phone. Looking at the caller ID he notices that it’s from Phoebe.

“Hey, your fiancée is texting me. I wonder what she wants.”

“And I wonder why she’s texting you and not me.” Gerald says with a questioning look.

Opening the message, Arnold sees the picture of Helga in the wedding dress. He takes in a sharp breath as he looks at his wife. He clicks on the picture, moving his fingers across it, increasing its size until it fills his phone’s screen. He notices an almost wistful expression on her face as she looks at herself in the mirror. As tuned in to his wife as he is, he picks up a hint of regret behind her eyes that others would miss. He always knew there was a part of Helga that wished for the whole traditional wedding scene, no matter how much she would deny it. A tinge of sadness pecks at his heart and he wishes there was something he could do to make it up to her. 

Curious as to what could be holding his friend’s attention for so long, Gerald inquires as to what Phoebe could want with Arnold. “So, are you going to tell me why MY fiancée is texting you instead of me?”

Pulling his gaze from his phone, he holds it up for Gerald to see. “She sent me a picture of Helga in a wedding dress.”

Gerald’s eyes grow wide at how stunning Helga looks in the gown. “Mmm-mm-mm, that’s one fine looking bride you’ve got there Arnold my man.”

A corner of Arnold’s mouth rises up a bit into a small half smile. “Yeah, she’s beautiful. You know, a part of me always felt bad that we missed out on the whole wedding thing.”

“Yeah, but remember, it was Helga that was so hell bent on not waiting, not you. If a traditional wedding was that important to her she would have waited until after you both graduated from college.”

“I know, but check out the look on her face. I really think that there was at least a small part of her that wanted the whole white dress and walking down the aisle thing.”

Gerald studies his friend. He knows the look that comes across his face, it’s the look that says he’s planning something. “Arnold, just what kind of ideas do you have running around in that head of yours?”

Arnold looks at his friend, giving him a mischievous smile. “I’m not sure yet, Gerald, but when I am, I have a feeling I’m going to need your help.”

“Oh brother.” Gerald says with a roll of his eyes. “I hope I don’t regret this, but, count me in.”


	81. Chapter 81

Tonya lays on her back on Denise’s bed as the rest of the girls sit chatting on the floor. She studies the ceiling while she thinks about the strange text she received the other day. She had decided to swear Denise to secrecy and not let the other girls know about it. When she first received the text, wishful thinking had prompted her to think that perhaps Blake could have been the sender. But after really thinking about it she realized that that was almost certainly not the case. The first clue was that Blake definitely did not have the know how to send an untraceable text. Combine that with the fact that Blake’s idea of a good poem was any limerick involving a man and the word Nantucket. So if it wasn’t Blake, that really only left one other candidate. Charles. 

Of course it’s Charles, who else could send a text from a number that was out of service. The question now was, why. Why would he do something like that, and why quote Shakespeare? Remembering their last conversation, she feels slightly guilty of the accusations she threw at him. This is why he did it, he wanted to prove to her that he could be romantic and woo a woman. She thinks about fessing up and letting him know she knows, but decides to play ignorant for a while and see where it leads. She’s curious as to just what his next move might be.

As if Charles was somehow reading her mind, a second anonymous text comes over her phone. Smiling to herself she opens it, anxious to see what he has to say.

“For where thou art, there is the world itself, and where though art not, desolation.”

She holds the phone screen side down to her chest as she looks back up to the ceiling. Hearing the ding of Tonya’s phone, Denise sits and watches as her friend picks up her message. By the look on Tonya’s face Denise surmised that she had received another poem from her unknown admirer. She had given the last poem considerable thought since the other day, but being unaware of Tonya’s lunchroom conversation with Charles, wasn’t as sure as her friend of who the sender might be. Getting up off the floor, she walks over to sit at the foot of the bed. 

She waits for Tonya to cast her gaze in her direction before speaking quietly. “So, more fan mail I presume?”

Without speaking, Tonya just gives her friend a slow nod of her head.

“May I read it?” Denise asks as she holds out her hand.

Taking the phone from her friend, she looks at the message. “Hmmm, more Shakespeare I see. Well at least the guy is well-read. I’d say whomever this guy is, he most definitely has a crush on you.”

Tonya thinks about this for a moment. “No, I don’t think it’s that. I think it’s just someone having some fun with me, more like a joke than a confession of any type of feelings.”

“I don’t know, Tonya. In that first text he was basically calling himself a slave to your love.”

Hearing the word, love, Gina turns her attention from the group on the floor and gives Tonya and Denise a suspicious look. Catching the girl’s eye Tonya quickly puts the matter on a temporary hold. “I don’t want to talk about this here. We can continue the debate later at my house.”

Giving up, Denise shakes her head at her stubborn friend as she goes to rejoin the other girls on the floor. “Whatever you say, Tonya.”

Once back in the group, Gina leans in and whispers in Denise’s ear. “What was all that love talk about between you and Tonya? Is Blake sending her love messages?”

Denise can’t help but to snicker at Gina’s question. “Heh, not quite, but don’t worry about it, it was nothing.”

With a shrug of her shoulders, Gina gives Denise a “whatever” look and brings her attention back to Heather’s retelling of the latest gossip to come out of Hillwood High.

xxxxx

Phoebe swings by her parent’s house on their way back from dress shopping. Dropping her mother off the two girls stop at Gino’s pizza thinking they’d surprise the guys with an extra-large pizza and a couple of six-packs of their favorite micro brew for dinner. The girls spend the time in quiet chit-chat as they wait for their order to come up. 

“It’s too bad you didn’t find the dress of your dreams today Pheebs.” 

“Well, I really meant for today to be more of a preliminary expedition, with the main goal of discovering what to cross off my list. So in that respect I’d say it was an eventful day.”

“I guess that’s true. Besides, it’s awfully early to pick out a dress anyway. Styles can change in two years and what you like today may not be so later on.”

“Right, exactly what I was thinking.” Phoebe studies her friend before resuming with what’s on her mind. “You sure looked happy in the dress you picked out. Too bad you weren’t the one dress shopping.”

Helga gives her eyes a roll. Outwardly she may look as if she doesn’t care, but there’s something in her voice that says otherwise. “Pfft, as if I’d actually ever wear something like that in public. You know I don’t go in for that kind of stuff.”

“I don’t know, Helga. The look on your face when you saw yourself in the mirror said otherwise.”

Helga’s about to refute Phoebe’s statement when their number is called. “I’d like to discuss this further with you Pheebs, but that’s our signal to get going. We’ll have to continue this conversation another time.”

“Whatever you say, Helga.”

xxxxx

Phoebe drives the rest of the way to the boarding house in silence as Helga stares out the passenger side window. Memories of her and Arnold’s quick civil ceremony at the Town Hall run through her mind. She questions herself, wondering if what she said to Phoebe was the actual truth. Did she regret not having a proper wedding? Maybe there was a small part of her that wished she had done the whole white gown/walking down the aisle route. Eh, what if she did? It’s not like their lives would have been changed in any way. No, she’s perfectly content with the choices she’s made and pushes the questions out of her mind for good.

Once back home the girls drop the pizza and beer off in the kitchen before taking up the search for their men. It doesn’t take long for them to find the guys lost in an old school video game from when they were kids.

“Where in the world did you get an old Nintendo system Arnoldo, and why is our son propped up in front of the TV like that?” Helga asks as she sits down next to her husband.

“Gerald and I were sitting here reminiscing back to when we were kids and it hit me that grandpa had this old system stored away down in the basement, and look, it’s Tetris! Phillip loves the music and watching the pieces fall down the screen.”

“Oh brother, that’s all I need in this house, TWO video game nerds.”

Arnold gives her a smug smile while still keeping his eyes on the screen. “Aw, you love it and you know it!”

“Heh, whatever, Arnoldo. Well if this is the direction the night is headed, then I call winner!”

A few minutes later, after an effective beating down by Gerald, Arnold hands the controller to Helga. Looking over to Phoebe he catches her eye and nods his head towards the kitchen. “Anyone up for a slice of pizza and a beer?” 

Catching Arnold’s silent request, Phoebe gets up offering to help. “I am, Arnold. Let me help you.”

Once in the kitchen Arnold grabs some paper plates from the cupboard as Phoebe opens the pizza box. “So, is there something you wanted to talk to me about, Arnold?”

Scratching the back of his neck he gives Phoebe a small smile. “Uh, yeah, there was. I wanted to thank you for that picture of Helga that you sent me. She looked like she was really enjoying the dress.”

“Yes, Arnold, although she denied it, I think deep down she really liked it. It’s too bad she never got the chance to play the part of blushing bride.”

“Yeah, I’ve always felt a little sad over that too. Um, what was the name of that dress shop you were at, anyway?”

Arnold’s question piques Phoebe’s curiosity. “The name of the shop is Wedding Belles, why?”

“Oh, no reason.” Arnold says as he fills the plates with pizza slices. “I was just wondering. So, I bet those dresses cost quite a bit, huh?”

“Well, they can be quite expensive, it all depends on the designer and how intricate the design. Tell me, Arnold, just why are you suddenly so interested in wedding dresses anyway?”

xxxxx

Helga sits on top of the bed sheets with her back against the headboard. Phillip lay in pure contentment on his back and gurgles up at her from between her stretched out legs. Neither of them notice Arnold as he lay on his side feigning sleep so he can steal a moment or two in quiet observation. He studies Helga’s profile as she looks down at Phillip, a soft smile on her face. She leans forward a bit causing her hair to fall over her shoulder, obscuring part of his view. His heart swells a bit as he watches the two interact and he asks himself just when did rough, gruff Helga Pataki, the scourge of PS 118, become this gentle, nurturing woman that’s sitting next to him. 

He thinks about everything he would have missed out on in his current life if he had listened to his friends back when he and Helga first started dating. Every day for what had to have been the first six months that they dated someone would come up to him, asking him if he was sure he knew what he was getting into. Their intentions were good, he knew that, so he never harbored any ill feelings towards them. Instead he just kept insisting that there was more to her than what she allowed them to see. Of course, there were days when even he wondered why he was subjecting himself to her brash behavior day in and day out, but, like a true lapidary, he saw the diamond that lay underneath all the dirt and rock, and with the skill that only he possessed, he delicately chipped away at her rough spots, carefully coaxing out the gem that lie within.

Yes, she still has a bit of that roughness to her, it’s one of the many pieces that makes her who she is and he would never want her to completely lose it. Only now it is tempered by her softer side. And though she may now be comfortable in showing the more nurturing Helga to the world, she’s still willing to risk her life to protect those she loves. His hand comes up and rubs his bruised shoulder as he remembers the shock of being flipped over her shoulder. He wonders what on God’s green earth made him think he could sneak up on her while she was in such deep concentration, and not have to pay the price for it.

Still trying to feign sleep, he gives himself away when he chuckles at the memory, the sound causing Helga to turn her attention to him.

She gives her head a questioning tilt as she looks at him. “And what do you find so funny so early in the morning?”

“Good morning to you, too.” He says as he pushes himself up to give her a kiss on her cheek. Getting to his knees, he motions for her to scoot her body forward a bit so he can sit in back of her. Placing his legs to either side of her just as she has done with Phillip. He wraps his arms around her torso and she leans back into his bare chest. Peering over her shoulder, he gives a smile and a wave to his son, and is met with an amused giggle in return.

“So how long were you laying there spying on me, pretending to be asleep?”

“Oh, not long, and I wasn’t spying, I was observing.”

She reaches for her brush that sits on the night table by the bed and starts to brush out her hair. “Okay then, ‘observing’. Well whatever you call it, It was creepy. You’re a creeper.”

“How am I a creeper, I was just watching my wife, thinking about how beautiful she is, and…….”

Helga gives a little giggle. “Relax, Arnoldo. I was just kidding.”

He takes the brush from her hand and starts to gently run it down her golden hair, his free hand trailing behind the brush with each stroke. Her hair feels soft beneath his hand and he takes a moment to run his fingers through it as he leans in, burying his nose into it.

She leans forward a bit, turning to look at him. “Did you just smell my hair?”

“What? Smell…..me? No, well, maybe. Is there a law that says a man can’t smell his wife’s hair?”

Leaning back into him she just gives a little chuckle. “You’re such a weirdo.” 

After a moment she gives a second chuckle, causing him to give her a questioning look from behind. “Now what’s so funny?”

“Heh, nothing, really. I was just remembering the first time you ever brushed my hair. It was back in the fourth grade. Do you remember?”

“Not really, refresh my memory.”

“It was back when you were all hung up on Lila and your cousin Arnie came to town and she went all ga-ga over him.”

“And you told me that the only way I was going to get her to notice me is if she thought I like liked someone else, right?”

“Yep.”

“And you agreed to pretend to be my girlfriend.”

“Yep.”

“Oh, God.”

“What?”

“You – I – I remember sitting in the library later that day, and you taking a piece of gum out of your mouth and shoving it into mine. I remember wanting to gag so badly.”

Helga holds her stomach as she lets out a series of giggles. “Ha, ha, yeah, oh boy, the look on your face was priceless.”

“I can’t believe the stuff you made me do.”

“Yeah, well, you’d do it now with no problem.” She sits quietly for a moment before speaking up again. “You want to know a secret?”

“Yeah, what?”

“I knew all along it wouldn’t work, you pretending to like like someone else.”

He stops brushing her hair and gives it a pull. “Then why’d you put me through all of that?”

She winces a bit batting his hand off her hair. He goes back to gently brushing as she talks. “I knew it wouldn’t work because it didn’t work when I tried it on you.”

“You tried to make me jealous? When and with whom?”

“Oh a couple of months before that, with Stinky.”

Arnold casts his mind back, remembering a time when Stinky had confessed to having a crush on Helga. “You took advantage of a guy’s feelings like that? Someone you knew liked you?”

“I didn’t know it at the time. At first it was just a business deal. I’d pay him a Mr. Nutty bar a day if he pretended to be my boyfriend.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because, I liked you, doi, and you were soooo hung up on Lila. God, I remember how much I hated her back then, just because you like liked her and not me.” 

“Well, you eventually became friends, right? What caused you to finally stop hating her?”

Helga shifts her position a bit, wishing now she had never brought up the subject. “Well, do you remember the fourth grade play, when you played Romeo?”

“Yeah, that’s something that’s hard to forget. What about it?”

“Well, Lila was set to play Juliet to your Romeo.”

“She was? But you were Juliet. I don’t get it.”

Helga is glad that her back is to Arnold and he can’t see her roll her eyes. She plays with Phillip’s legs, giving him warm smiles as he giggles as she continues to talk with Arnold. “I wanted to play Juliet to your Romeo so I went to her and asked her if she’d give me the part. She wouldn’t, at first, but when I finally confessed to her how much I really, really liked you, she stepped aside and let me play Juliet.”

Arnold doesn’t say anything right away and Helga wonders if she’s given away just a bit too much info. After what feels like an eternity to Helga, he finally breaks the silence. “Helga, if I ask you something, will you answer me honestly?”

Her heart starts to beat a little faster as she wonders just what it is he wants to know. There’s a bit of a catch in her voice as she speaks. “Sh-sure, A-Arnold, ask whatever you want.”

He chooses his words carefully before he asks his question. “You always tell me how you’ve had feelings for me practically all our lives. I’m curious, just when was the very first time you realized that it was actually love you were feeling? Was it in the fourth grade?”

She doesn’t mean to, but she can’t help letting out a loud “HA!” when she hears the question. “Uh, no, Arnold it was not the fourth grade. Try a little earlier.”

“Third grade?”

“Nope.”

“Second?”

“Try more like preschool.”

He gives a surprised raise of his eyebrows. “Preschool?”

She leans her head into his chest before she answers him, forcing him to stop his brushing. He runs his fingers through her hair instead as he listens. Her voice sounds distant and small.

“It was our very first day of preschool. My parents were too busy listening to Olga play the piano to be bothered with taking me to school, so I took my lunchbox and walked. It had started to rain and I had no coat or umbrella to keep me dry so I ended up getting soaked as I walked. About half way there this big dog came up to me and started sniffing me. He must have smelled the food in my lunchbox because he grabbed at it with his teeth, scaring me. I let go of it and he just picked it up in his mouth and ran off with it. There was nothing I could do, so I just went right on back to walking, eventually reaching the school.”

She pauses for a moment and he wraps his arms around her, holding her close to him. He kisses the top of her head as she continues.

“I remember standing on the sidewalk just staring at the building. It seemed so big and foreboding to me. I started to have second thoughts as I stood there, shivering in the rain. Then, all of a sudden I noticed that the rain had stopped falling on my head. I looked over to see you standing next to me, holding an umbrella over my head. I looked at you and all I noticed was your smile. It was warm and inviting and friendly. I looked into your eyes and thought that I had never seen eyes so green. You smiled at me, and do you know what the very first thing you ever said to me was?”

Arnold smiles as he talks softly in her ear. “I like your bow, it’s pink like your pants. Oh my God, Helga. I remember. And that’s why you always wore that pink bow when we were kids.”

She gives him a nod of her head. “That was the first truly kind thing I can remember anyone ever saying to me.” After she’s regained control of her emotions, she asks him a question of her own. “Okay, I spilled my guts to you, now it’s your turn. Tell me again, when did you first start having feelings for me?”

He thinks for a minute as their past runs through his mind. “Well, we’ve known each other for so long, it’s hard to pinpoint an exact moment. I do know that once I finally did realize I was in love with you it felt as if there never was a time in my life that I wasn’t. This is really a hard one because I remember every time I’d find out about some selfless act of kindness you’d done for someone, I’d always like you just a little bit more. But if you want an actual moment, then I think the first time I was really conscious of feeling something more than friendship towards you was back in the fourth grade. Do you remember that one time right before spring break when we were all getting ready to leave school and Mr. Simmons made us stay after?”

“Old Granola Boy? Yeah, boy do I remember that. It was his fault that we got stuck and couldn’t leave the school when it started flooding.”

“Yeah, well, remember when he went missing and we eventually found him clinging to the fire escape ladder right outside that one classroom?”

“Yeah, he was hanging on for dear life.”

“Right. Well I remember us all coming together as a team…..”

“Tribe.”

“What?”

“We called ourselves a tribe, remember?”

“Oh, yeah, we came together as a tribe and worked to rescue him. Stinky had thrown the flag to him and you had hung out the window to help pull him in, but you lost your footing and fell into the flood waters.”

“Criminy, I remember that, I was scared shitless.”

“Yeah, well, you weren’t the only one. Man, I remember when you hit that water and disappeared beneath the surface, there was a moment where you were completely gone from sight. My heart leapt up into my throat and I was so scared of losing you and there was nothing I could do about it. I remember thinking over and over, ‘please be okay, please be okay’. Then you finally popped up right next to Simmons and I silently thanked God for him keeping you safe. When you first came up our eyes met and you called my name. Something sparked inside of me. I didn’t realize it as actual love until we were much older, but I’d have to say that that was the first of many small sparks that eventually grew into the love I have for you now.”

They sit letting each other’s words sink in until they hear an annoyed Phillip yell out, bringing their attention back to him. Helga picks him up, holding him to her chest, Arnold’s arms coming around her so he can hold his son’s hands in his before he slides out from behind Helga and rolls towards the edge of the bed. 

“Well, as much as I’d love to spend the day in bed with my two favorite people, it’s a work day and I’m already running late.”

Helga gives him a pout as he heads for the bedroom door. “I wish you didn’t have to go.”

He turns to look at her. “Hey, you’ve had me all to yourself for the last four days, aren’t you afraid that you’ll get tired of me?”

“Me, get tired of you? Ain’t never gonna happen bucko.”

He smiles as he continues his trek to the bathroom. “Good, now, if you really love me you’ll make me some breakfast, I’m starving.”

As he disappears through the doorway she thinks to herself, “Oh, Arnoldo, if you only knew just how much I really love you.”


	82. Chapter 82

It’s never easy going back to work after a long weekend, and Arnold finds himself becoming very easily distracted as he waits for time to slowly tick by. He can’t get the image Phoebe sent him of Helga in that wedding dress out of his mind. Again the hidden look of regret he saw in her eyes tugs at his heart. He’s made a promise to himself that he is going to try to do everything in his power to make up for all that they had missed out on when they chose a quick civil ceremony over a more traditional wedding. He feels he owes Helga at least that much for all the years of love and support she has so selflessly given him. It will be hard keeping things a secret from her, and he’s not even sure he’ll be successful in bringing it all together, but he can be just as stubborn as his wife when need be, and he’s determined to pull this off. So, ignoring the work on his desk, he pulls up the web search tab on his phone and types in the name of the bridal shop Phoebe had given him. After a short wait as his phone processes his request he is presented with a list of bridal shops within a twenty mile radius of where he sits, the first of which is Wedding Belles. He clicks on the link to their webpage, and hits the “shop dresses” tab. He is immediately bombarded with image after image of every style wedding dress imaginable. As he scrolls through the various images he notices that there are no prices listed and he sees that to be a bad sign. 

With his internet search proving to be of no help, he resigns himself to the fact that he is going to have to make a visit to the shop in person. Checking his calendar he sees that he is appointment free this afternoon and decides to stop by on his way home from work. Glancing down at his desk, he notices the open file that stares up at him and with a sigh turns his attention back to work. He starts scanning some notes he had written and is just about to pick up the phone to call the student’s parents to set up an appointment to meet with them when the bell goes off, signaling the start of first lunch. 

“Aww, too bad.” He thinks to himself as he pulls his hand away from the phone. “Don’t want to start something I can’t finish.” Grabbing his cell phone instead, he shoots Gerald a quick text.

“Lunch?” 

He stares out his office window as he waits for Gerald to answer, becoming so lost in thought that when the phone goes off signaling his friend’s reply, he gives a small jump in surprise. Opening the message he smiles as he replies back.

“Perfect, I’ll meet you in line. Save me a tapioca.”

Closing up the open file he swears to himself that he will go straight back to work after lunch. Leaving his office he shuts off the light before closing the door behind him. As he heads towards the cafeteria he sees Tonya and Gina coming from the opposite direction. He gives them a warm smile as they approach, immediately melting Gina’s heart. She fights hard to stifle a sigh that is threatening to escape her.

“Hi girls.” He says as he looks from one to the other. “Did you both enjoy your nice long weekend?”

Gina’s brain has picked that very moment to shut down leaving Tonya to answer for the both of them. “Oh, yes, we sure did. We totally took advantage of the four days off and did nothing at all.”

“Well, that sounds very relaxing.” Arnold says as he thinks to himself “Ahh, to be a kid again!”

“What about you?” Tonya asks. “Do anything exciting?”

“Not really. Spent most of the time in the company of some good friends, but that’s about it.”

“How’s Phillip doing? I’ve missed that little guy.”

“Oh, he’s doing fine, and if you want to know the truth, I think he misses you, too. We’ll have to have you come over and babysit again soon.”

Nothing would make Tonya happier than to spend more time at the boarding house, so she jumps at the opportunity. “Oh I’d love that, just let me know, I can babysit anytime.”

“Alright then, I’ll just do that. Well you girls enjoy your lunch.”

Tonya gives him a wave as he walks away while Gina grabs her other arm, giving it a shake. “I can’t believe how lucky you are! I’d give anything for an excuse to hang out at Mr. Shortman’s house!”

Tonya pulls her arm out of her friend’s grasp. “I didn’t offer to babysit so I can spend time with Mr. Shortman, I meant what I said, I really do miss Phillip, and Mrs. Shortman too.”

Gina gives her a befuddled look. “Really? Why? I mean, yeah, I can see maybe enjoying playing with Phillip, but missing Mrs. Shortman? What’s so special about her? Other than she’s married to the cutest guy at Hillwood.”

Gina’s question makes Tonya uncomfortable. It’s not like she can just up and say that she feels closer to Helga than she does to her own mom, or that she feels more at home at the boarding house than she does at her own home. So instead of answering her she just blows the question off.

“Oh, never mind, Gina, you wouldn’t understand.”

“Whatever you say, Tonya.”

They’ve reached their lockers, and Tonya gives Gina a nod of her head signaling that the topic is closed to any further discussion. She dials in the locker’s combination and as she opens the door she gives a little gasp as she is bombarded by an army of helium filled balloons as they come bursting out. She and Gina stand in shocked silence as they watch them gently float upwards, only stopping when they’ve reached the ceiling above them. Hanging from each balloon are long ribbons that trail almost to the floor, surrounding them in a rainbow of colors. One balloon hangs lower than the others due to the fact of a note that is tied to its ribbon. The two girls look at each other, exchanging a knowing smile. Reaching out, Tonya takes the note, untying it from the ribbon. She lets go freeing the balloon to join the others that stand gathered at the ceiling. 

Tonya stands looking at the folded paper, her heart beating just a beat above normal. Giving her friend a good nudge, Gina urges her to open it.

“What are you waiting for, open it already.”

“Okay, okay, give me a second, will ya.” Tonya says as she slowly opens the note. Holding her breath, her eyes scan the words that are printed on the card.

 

“Come what sorrow can, it cannot countervail the exchange of joy  
That one short minute gives me in her sight”

“Well?” Gina impatiently asks. Tonya silently holds the note out for Gina to see. Grabbing the note, Gina practically swoons as she reads it. “That’s from Romeo and Juliet! Oh my God, He sees you as Juliet to his Romeo! Do you know how romantic that is?”

Tonya’s heart skips a quick beat before she shakes her head, clearing it of thoughts of romance. “Don’t be ridiculous, Gina.” She scoffs before grabbing the note back and shoving it deep into her backpack. “I’ve told you, this is all just some sort of joke played at my expense. I refuse to fall for it. I will not be the butt of some depraved person’s tasteless sense of humor.”

“And I still say that this is no joke.” Gina narrows her eyes at Tonya now. “Are you sure you have no idea who these notes are from?”

Knowing how good Gina is as sniffing out the truth, Tonya does her best to keep up her charade. “I’ve told you, I have no clue as to who these notes could possibly be from. Now, if you will, help me gather up these balloons.”

“What are you going to do with them?”

“Well I’m certainly not going to walk around all day with them. I’ll drop them off at the attendance office and pick them back up after school.”

“Okay.” She says out loud, but to herself she mumbles, “I still say the guy’s hopelessly in love with you.”

“What did you say?” Tonya asks as she gives her friend a warning glare.

“Nothing, Tonya. Absolutely nothing.”

xxxxx

With the day finally over Arnold makes his way through the parking lot towards the Packard. Pulling up the website to Wedding Belles he checks the address one more time. Following the directions off his phone, he finds that the shop is right in the middle of a newly renovated part of town. In an effort to bring some life back to downtown Hillwood, the city planners had started a campaign to take the old, run-down buildings and refurbish them while still keeping as much of the original architecture as possible, turning it into a Hipster’s paradise. Wedding Belles was one of the first to undergo such a transition and sits surrounded by trendy shops and small bistros. If it were a Friday or Saturday night he would find it next to impossible to find any sort of parking, but with it being Tuesday afternoon he is lucky and finds a spot right out in front of the store. 

Getting out of the car he stands and looks into the shop’s large display window where he sees three mannequins, each dressed in a different style of wedding gown. A bit embarrassed to be walking into what he is sure is a female dominated establishment, he takes a deep breath and steps through the door. His eyes take in the array of dresses on display before him. The lights from above catch the various rhinestones and beads that cover a lot of the dresses, causing them to gleam and sparkle. Along the two side walls hang dresses of various colors that he assumes to be bride’s maid dresses. There are shoe displays dotted here and there and jewelry cases filled with tiaras and necklaces and other assorted accoutrements. 

He starts to feel like a fish out of water when he is approached by a salesperson. 

“Hello and welcome to Wedding Belles. My name is Cheryl. Is there anything I can help you with today?”

Arnold looks at her outstretched hand and takes it, giving it a quick shake. “Oh, uh, hi. Yeah, maybe you can. I’d like some information on wedding dresses.”

“Well then, you’ve come to the right place. What is it you’d like to know?”

He reaches a hand to the back of his neck, giving it a light scratch, a nervous habit he picked up as a child which has followed him into adulthood. “Well, um, my wife was in here the other day with her friend and had tried on this one wedding dress. I, uh, was wondering if you still had it?”

“If she was just here recently then yes, it would be a dress that we carry and can order for her.”

“Order?”

“Well, yes. That’s how it works, you pick out a dress, then we take down your measurements and order the dress. Then when it comes in it usually takes a couple of fittings before it’s ready to be taken home.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that. And how long does something like that take?”

“Well, if you ordered the dress today you’d probably be able to take it home by October.”

“October! Why that’s” He mentally counts on his fingers before looking at her with wide eyes. “Six months!”

Cheryl gives him a nod of her head. “Yes, that’s about right.”

“But, but what if we don’t have six months to wait?”

“Well, we do have dresses that we sell straight off the rack, then you can take them to your own seamstress for alterations. You said she was trying on dresses with her friend. Was there a particular dress that she was interested in?”

“Um, yeah, actually, there was.” Arnold reaches into his pocket, pulling out his phone. Clicking into his photo gallery, he pulls up the picture that Phoebe had sent him and shows it to Cheryl. “This is the dress I’m interested in.”

Taking the phone from Arnold Cheryl looks closely at the picture. Looking at Helga’s face she starts to smile. “Hey, I remember her, I was working the day she and her friend came in. As a matter of fact I was one of the consultants that helped the bride-to-be’s mom pick out tea length dresses.”

“Really? So do you recognize the dress my wife is wearing?”

“Yes, I do. It’s one of our older styles. If you’ll follow me I’ll take you back to where the dresses are, I’m sure I know just were it is.”

With Arnold following close behind, Cheryl leads him to a back room where all the dress are kept. Arnold stands among racks and racks of dresses, completely overwhelmed. With the expertise of one who’s done this every day, Cheryl immediately goes for where she last saw Helga’s dress and in a few minutes approaches Arnold victorious with dress in hand.

“Here it is, the exact dress your wife tried on.” Unzipping the plastic cover Cheryl pulls out the dress, holding it up for Arnold.

“That’s it, that’s the dress in the picture. So, um, how much does a dress like that cost?”

Checking the price tag Cheryl gives Arnold a hard dose of reality. “With this being last year’s style, the price has been reduced to sell quickly. It’s only $900.”

Arnold audibly chokes a bit on the price, his eyes giving away his shock. “Ni-nine hundred dollars? And that’s the sale price.”

“I’m afraid so. Plus that doesn’t include the veil she’s wearing in the picture. That’s another $500.”

“Five hundred……….that’s more than half the cost of the dress!”

“Yes, well, it does extend at least four feet behind her, the longer veils do cost more. If it helps, and if you can wait a few more days, we will be having a store wide sale on all our dresses. It’s a pretty good sale, twenty percent off.”

He does some quick math in his head, with the sale price that would bring the dress itself closer to $700. Add on $500 for the veil for a total of roughly $1200 plus tax. It’s a lot more than he was figuring on which leads him to believe he didn’t really think this out too well. Twelve hundred dollars minimum and that’s just the dress.

Cheryl can see him struggling with the price and her heart goes out to him. Her voice is gentle as she speaks. “This means a lot to you, doesn’t it?”

He lifts his gaze to her face, his green eyes lock on to hers, the look he gives her says much more than any words can. He does his best to make her see just how important this is to him.

“Yes, this means more to me than I can even say. You see, my wife and I, we never had a proper wedding. Our ceremony consisted of us standing with a few family members and our best friends in front of the Justice of the Peace. With a few quick words we said our “I do’s” and that was that. It’s what we felt was the best for us at the time, but I know deep down my wife would have loved the whole white dress bit. I mean, on the outside she may say she doesn’t care, but deep down. Well, deep down I know there’s that little girl who’d love nothing more than to play princess for a day, and to wear that white gown and to have the man she loves look her in the eye in front of all her friends, and tell her just how much he loves her. And that’s what I’m going to do. I don’t care what it costs, or how much extra I’ll have to work to pay for it, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Cheryl stands there for a moment, touched by what she’s just heard. There’s a slight quiver to her voice when she finally speaks. “Well then, it’s our job to help make sure that that happens. I’ve worked here long enough to have a little bit of pull with the owner so I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. Like I said before, this dress is an older style, we may not even carry it anymore by next season. I will put this dress aside for a few days until our sale starts. You go home and think about it and make sure this is what you want. In the meantime I’m going to work on the owner and see if we can’t just cut that price down even further.” 

They walk back to the front of the store where she takes down Arnold’s name and phone number. She takes a business card with her name on it and hands it to him. “Come in on April first when the sale starts, and we’ll see what we can work out.”

Grateful for her help he takes her hand, giving it a hearty shake. “Thank you, thank you so much, you don’t know how much I appreciate this.”

“Don’t worry about it, that’s what we’re here for, to help make people’s dreams come true. I’ll see you on the first.”

Arnold feels as if he’s walking on air as he makes his way home. As he walks through the kitchen door he finds Helga at the stove, stirring a pot of spaghetti, with Phillip sitting contentedly in his swing.

“There you are.” Helga says as he gives her a kiss on her cheek. “I was beginning to wonder when you’d be getting home. Did you get stuck in a meeting?”

With a wry smile Arnold picks up his son, giving him a tight hug. “Something like that.” He says. 

Helga sees the look on his face, her suspicious mind wondering what’s up. “Mm,-hmm. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”

“Wonderful, I’m starving.” Arnold says as he leaves the room with a small skip in his step, Phillip perched happily on his hip as his little fingers pull gently on his daddy’s hair.


	83. Chapter 83

With Phillip down for the night, Helga takes advantage of the down time to take a leisurely bath. She sits in the warm water, surrounded by bubbles, the scent of lavender filling her nose. She’s pulled a vanity chair close to the tub so she’d have someplace to put her wine glass and phone. She leans back against a plastic pillow that is suction cupped to the wall of the tub and closes her eyes. She feels weightless as the water does its job of relaxing her tense muscles. 

She had received a call from Carlos earlier in the day, informing her of two book signings that have been set up for this coming weekend in a couple of neighboring towns. The first one is set up for Saturday morning, with the second on Sunday. Both are no more than a 45 minute drive and as long as Arnold has no plans and can watch Phillip, she doesn’t see there being any problems. Carlos had made the suggestion of picking her up at the boarding house so they could arrive at the venues together. She doesn’t have a problem with it, but she’s not sure how her husband is going to feel about her spending that much time alone with Carlos. 

She’s only physically met Carlos that one time and still doesn’t know what to make of him. He’s always been nothing more than all business during their phone conversations, but she still remembers that lingering handshake when they first met which is causing her to keep her guard up. She was going to say something to Arnold over dinner, but never got the chance. He had been acting strange ever since he walked in the door after work and she couldn’t help but to try and figure out just what was up. 

At first he had this dopey smile plastered on his face, the kind of smile that said he knew something that she didn’t. When she confronted him, demanding he fess up and tell her what was on his mind he vehemently denied that anything was up, basically accusing her of being paranoid. He went silent after that, quickly eating his dinner then excusing himself to go shower. When he was finished he spent the rest of the night playing with Phillip, making sure to avoid her at all costs. She had thought to pursue it further but figured that he never was one to successfully keep many secrets to himself, so she figured she’d just bide her time and wait for him to give himself away. Besides, right now she has the problem of telling him that she’ll basically be spending most of next weekend in the company of one Carlos Ortiz.

xxxxx

Arnold sits stretched out in his favorite family room chair and listens to the water as it fills the upstairs bathtub. He can’t believe how close he came to blowing his secret. Helga was right, he is bad at keeping secrets, his face always giving him away. When he caught the suspicious look she was giving him he thought for sure that the jig was up. Then when she started questioning him! He didn’t know what else to do but to clam up and avoid all conversation. Man, keeping this a secret from Helga was going to be harder than he realized. Forget waiting until October to surprise her, he was going to have to get this done as soon as possible. Buying the dress won’t be a problem. That is if they’ll let him take the display model. If so all he can do is hope that it fits because he has no idea how to have it altered without her trying it on first. 

He runs a mental check list of all that is going to need to be accomplished if he’s going to effectively pull this off. First, they’ll need to find a place to hold the ceremony. He’s been looking at places online and has a few places bookmarked to check out this weekend. He discussed it with Gerald at lunch and was able to talk the guy into coming along with him, not only for company, but also as an alibi. If Helga asks what he did all day he can just say he spent it hanging out with Gerald. Not the whole truth, but not a lie either. 

Next thing on the list is someone to officiate. Neither one of them have ever been big church goers, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a spiritual side. He knows Helga would have liked to have been married by a preacher and there is that Lutheran church her family would sometimes attend on Christmas and Easter. He’s not quite sure what to do first. Do you book the venue and then try to find a preacher, or the opposite? He guesses that all he can do is to have a few dates in mind and see if any match up.

Next is the bridal party. That should be pretty easy. Gerald has already agreed to step up and play best man for a second time, and he’s positive Phoebe will do the same. Gerald has even gone so far as to offer to, if okayed by Phoebe, change his plans of flying to California for Spring break and have Phoebe come back to Hillwood instead. He’s promised to talk to Phoebe about it tonight and get back to him when they see each other the next day at work. He wonders about Lila and Stinky. He’s sure they’d be glad to take a day away from the farm to be a part of things. The only real problem would probably be Rhonda. He hopes that she can free up some time in her schedule for a quick Hillwood trip. 

The last two items on the list are pictures and food. He already knows that he wants Sid to be the one to take the pictures, and he even has a cover story that should help explain the whole wedding thing without giving anything away. He just hopes Sid will go for it. As for the food, who better to plan a menu than Olga? The only problem with Olga, though, is that she’s even worse at keeping her emotions to herself than he is, but he hopes that in this case she can be discrete enough to not blow their cover. 

He looks at the time and sees that it’s not too late so he punches in Sid’s number hoping that he’s not busy entertaining his latest girlfriend. Sid picks up after only two rings, a good sign that he’s alone. 

“Hey, Arnold, how ya doing?”

“Oh, pretty good. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“No, not at all. I was just sitting here trying to find something interesting on TV. What’s up?”

“Well, I have a little project that I’m working on and it seems that I am in need of a good photographer.”

“Well you’ve come to the right place. What is it you need done?”

Arnold proceeds to spend the next half an hour explaining his plan to Sid who immediately agrees to do what he can to help. If Arnold can convince Rhonda to play along, then he’s sure the others will join in with no trouble. He’s feeling pretty good about things when he hears Helga coming down the stairs. Putting his phone away, he quickly turns the TV on to the local news station.

Helga comes walking into the family room, her hair still wet and dampening her silky pink nightgown, causing it to stick to her back. She stops at the recliner that Arnold is lounging in and sits in his lap, her long legs hanging over one of the arm rests. She leans into him and gives him a soft nibble on his neck. Burrowing his nose into her wet hair he picks up the familiar scent of her jasmine and honey shampoo. It mixes with the lavender from her bath gel and he closes his eyes, savoring the intoxicating effects of the blended scents. She reaches up under the t-shirt he wears, and draws small circles on his chest with her fingers. He cradles her in his arms as he rests his chin on her wet hair. Figuring that this was as good a time as any to tell Arnold about the upcoming weekend, she braces herself for his response.

“I forgot to tell you at dinner that I heard from Carlos this afternoon.”

“Oh? And what did the Latin lover have to talk about?”

“Arnold, I’ve told you, he’s no Latin lover, just a guy doing his job.”

“Okay, so what did he want?”

“Well, it seems that he’s lined up a couple of book signings in some neighboring towns, one on Saturday and the other on Sunday. He thought it would be best if he met me here and then we could drive to the stores together.”

The wheels start to turn in Arnold’s head, he can’t believe the luck. With Helga busy with her book signings he’d be free to venue shop without raising any suspicion. He has to fight to hold in his enthusiasm. “Oh, well, I guess it can’t be helped. You’ve got to do what’s good for your book, right?”

Helga looks at him suspiciously. “Sooo, you’re not upset that I’ll be spending most of the weekend with Carlos?”

“Well, like you said, he’s just a guy doing his job, right?”

“And it will be both Saturday and Sunday.”

“I know, it will suck having you gone both days, but you’re coming back home at night, right?”

“Yes. You’ll have to watch Phillip.”

Arnold didn’t think about Phillip needing to be watched, but he figures he’ll just take the boy along for the ride. “That’s fine, I hardly get enough time with him as it is. It will be good bonding time.”

“Well, okay then. I guess it’s settled. I’ll let Carlos know in the morning that everything’s fine and that I’ll meet him here first thing Saturday morning.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Arnold agrees as he smiles into Helga’s wet hair. With the matter settled he’s free to turn his attention towards more personal matters. Grabbing Helga at the waist he moves her body so she’s now laying on top of him. Running his hands under her nightgown he lets them roam her bare back before bringing one hand to the front. He massages her breasts as he keeps his free arm around her waist. Holding on to her, he reclines the chair all the way back. With a giggle she holds his face in her hands, rubbing her nose to his. 

“Why Mr. Shortman.” She says as she nibbles his lower lip. “I do believe you are trying to seduce me.”

He gives her a matter of fact look. “Could be, is it working?”

With a grind of her hips she looks into his half lidded eyes. Pulling off her nightgown she continues baring down on him. Leaning forward, she whispers in his ear. “I don’t know, you tell me.”

With a nod of his head he chokes out a breathy “Oh, yeah.” Before plastering his lips to hers. The whole time hoping that the old recliner is able to withstand the beating it’s about to take. 

xxxxx

 

Gerald sits propped up in bed, his laptop perched on his legs as he talks to Phoebe over Skype. She is taking a break from her studying and he thinks about how cute she looks with her school books all scattered around her on her bed. It reminds him of when they were kids and had just started dating. Many a night he would sit with her in her room, keeping her company as she went above and beyond with her homework. For Gerald it was always good enough to do just the required amount, enough to get him by, but not Phoebe. If the teacher asked for a ten page report on the life cycle of the African Tsetse Fly she would make it twelve pages, complete with footnotes and illustrations.

He remembers asking her once why she always did so much more than was assigned. After all, an A was an A whether she turned in ten pages or twelve. Her response was always the same.

“If you’re going to do a job then you should give it your all and never settle for bare minimum.”

That, he always thought, was her father talking. He always felt the man expected a lot from Phoebe which, in his opinion, just put a lot of undo stress on the girl. He firmly believes it was that kind of pressure that caused Phoebe to actually up and cheat in the fourth grade, just to win a stupid poetry contest. Come on, the girl committed plagiarism for crying out loud. His Phoebe, pushed to the brink of the ultimate literary crime. “Mmm-mm-mm,” he thinks to himself, “that’s just too much pressure.”

He’s pulled from his thoughts as Phoebe waves a hand in front of the camera, trying to get his attention.

“Hello, Earth to Gerald. Come in Gerald, are you there?”

“Oh, I’m sorry Phoebe, my mind wandered off for a second.”

“Am I that boring?”

“No! Actually, I was thinking about how cute you look sitting there surrounded by all your books. It took my memory back to our old school days. Remember how I used to sit on the bed keeping you company as you studied?”

“Hmm, what I seem to remember is you trying to get me to make out with you instead of studying.”

A light blush comes to Gerald’s cheeks. “Hey, you can’t blame a brother for trying, not when he has such a fine lady cuddled up all next to him. And besides, I seem to remember more than one time that you were more than happy to oblige your man.”

Hiding her smile behind her hand, Phoebe lets out a small giggle. “Why yes, I do seem to remember something like that happening too.”

They sit in quiet contemplation for a moment before Phoebe breaks the silence. “So I think what Arnold is trying to do for Helga is awfully romantic, but do you really think he can pull it off? It’s a mighty big task.”

“Well, all I know is that my man Arnold is one bold man and if anyone can pull it off, he can. The real question in this should be can he do it without spilling the beans? You know how he can be.”

“Oh yes, he does tend to wear his heart on his sleeve. It will be interesting seeing how this all plays out.”

“So, Phoebe, are you sure you don’t mind changing our Spring break plans? After all, I was supposed to be the one to travel this time.”

“Of course I don’t mind. I wouldn’t miss what Arnold has planned for anything in the world. Besides, your place is more comfortable than mine anyway. At your place we don’t have any roommates to worry about. Plus I love being in Hillwood, it’s my hometown, the place where all my best memories are from.”

“Now you can’t let Helga know you’re coming for your break, we still have to make her think I’m flying down to see you.”

“I know, I look forward to doing my best to pull the wool over Helga’s eyes. She’s not an easy one to trick. I’m totally up for the challenge.”

Gerald gives her a big smile. “Why look at you being all competitive like that. Where was that spirit when we’d play football over at Gerald Field?”

“Oh, I’m not good at physical challenges, I prefer the more intellectual ones, like trying to outsmart Helga.”

Gerald gives her a raise of his eyebrow. “Oh, don’t count yourself so short my fine Senorita, I can think of a few physical challenges you more than excel at.”

Now it’s Phoebe’s turn to blush, an act that never fails to turn Gerald on. “Ah, Pheebs, you look so damn sexy right now. Man, it’s barely even been a full two days since I last saw you and I miss you so much.”

“I know, Gerald, I miss you too but it won’t be long. Spring break will be here before you know it, then after that it’s only a couple of months until summer. And this year I promise not to take any summer classes. I’m devoting this whole summer to being with you. Anyway, back to this weekend. Do you and Arnold have a game plan or are you just going to wing it?”

“I believe Arnold has a few places already lined up that he wants to visit so we’ll just take them in order and hopefully something will work out.”

“What excuse is he giving Helga for being gone most of the weekend?”

“Well that’s easy part. It seems Helga is going to be busy both days with book signings so she won’t even be around to notice how long we’ll be gone. Only thing is that since she won’t be able to take Phillip with her, we’ll be on baby duty.”

“Oh, my. A whole day of Phillip being cooped up in a car seat. He’s not a newborn anymore, he’s not going to like that.”

“Aww, Pheebs, you worry too much. Phillip’s a great little guy, easygoing like his dad. It’ll be a piece of cake.”

“Well, just remember, he’s got Helga’s blood running through him too. If he’s not happy he’s going to make sure you know it.”

Realizing that Phoebe is right, Gerald is a little less enthusiastic this time when he speaks. “Uh, yeah, he is half Pataki, isn’t he. Naw, I’m sure it will be fine. Yep, everything’s going to be juuust fine.”

“If you say so, Gerald. Well I hate to cut this short, but I really should get back to studying. I’ll talk to you again tomorrow. I love you, Gerald.”

“I love you, too, Phoebe. Have a good night.”

As Gerald shuts down his laptop he watches as the screen fades to black and reassures himself one last time. “Yeah, Phillip’s a good kid, I’m sure everything will be just…………fine.”


	84. Chapter 84

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helga sings a children’s song at the end of this chapter. Of course I claim no rights to it, but it is a very cute little song. It’s called “Blanket for a Sail” and if you feel like it, hop on YouTube and listen to the Harry Nilsson rendition of it. That’s the one I can definitely see Helga singing to her child. As always, please enjoy……

It’s another fair morning at Hillwood High, and Arnold sits at his desk looking at the work that is starting to pile up from lack of attention. He knows that he really should start trying to make some progress and get things done, but he just can’t concentrate when there’s so much planning to be done. He’s made sure to respond to any pertinent matters what with graduation looming around the corner. He’d hate to be the reason some senior fails to be able to walk just because he was too distracted to do his job and give the student the help and guidance that he’s being paid to dole out. He promises that he’ll get right to work, right after he makes a quick phone call to Rhonda.

He looks at the clock and see that it’s just about noon time in New York and he hopes she’s not in the middle of some important photo shoot or anything. Her phone rings once, twice, three times. He’s afraid she’s not going to pick up when he hears a drowsy “Hello?” on the other end.

“Oh, hi, Rhonda, it’s Arnold. Did I wake you? I’m sorry if I did.”

“Oh, hi Arnold. No, that’s okay. I should be getting up soon anyway, so it’s no problem. So, what’s up?”

“Yeah, well, Sid told me he talked to you the other day about, well, you know.”

She sounds a little more awake as she talks. “Oh, yes, the vow renewal you’re planning to surprise Helga with. I must say, Arnold, this all sounds so tres romantique, but are you sure you’re going to be able to pull this off? It’s an awful big undertaking for one person.”

“Yes, I’m hoping that with everyone’s help everything will work out just fine.”

“Wow, this sounds just like you, you always were the positive thinker of the group.”

“Yeah, well, someone has to be, right? Anyway, I know how busy you are, but do you think there’s any way you’ll be able to be a part of this? I know Helga would love to have you there.”

“Yeah, I’ve checked my calendar, I do have a shoot scheduled for late May, but if you can arrange to do this no later than the middle of the month it should be fine. Also, I must say, good job on your cover story too. It’s a brilliant plan, and very believable. Having Sid tell Helga that he’s entered a contest to do a spread in Bride’s Time Magazine, and wanting me to play the bride. Pure brilliance. I can’t wait to see how she handles ending up having to play the bride when she finds out our dress sizes have been switched.”

“Ha, ha, yeah, she’s not going to like that, having to be the center of attention but at least I won’t be the one in the room having to deal with it.”

“Oh, very funny. It’s a good thing I love you guys otherwise there’s no way I’d subject myself to her tirade. Really, Arnold, this all sounds great, but there’s just one thing, how are you ever going to convince Helga to agree to sitting for a photo shoot?”

“Oh don’t worry about that, I’ll play to her altruistic side. You know that deep down she’d do anything for her friends. Especially after Sid did us such a favor with our Christmas pictures. I have no doubt that with a little encouragement she’ll agree.”

“If you say so, Arnold. Well, you just get back to me with a date and I’ll be there. Now I really must start getting ready for my day. Au revoir Arnold, dear.”

“Good-bye, Rhonda, and thanks again.”

He hangs up with a smile on his face, another item checked off his list. He’s about to turn his attentions back to actual work when his phone goes off. Looking at the caller id he sees that it’s Olga. He braces himself for the rush of enthusiasm that he knows he’s going to get hit with.

“Good morning, Olga, how are you today?” He can’t help but wince as her high-pitched voice hits his ear.

“Oh, Arnold, I am absolutely perfect! I just read your email and I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am! How romantic, you surprising my baby sister with a renewal of your wedding vows! I can just cry it’s so beautiful of a thought! You can count me in to do anything you need. Now what have you done already? You’ll need to find a place to hold the ceremony, and invitations will need to be sent. When are you planning on doing this? It takes time to have invitations printed out and sent you know. And food. You’ll need to plan a menu and there’s the music and the wedding dress………….”

Arnold can’t help but chuckle at Olga as he tries his best to calm her down. “I’m glad to hear that you’re on board with this, I was hoping I’d be able to count on your support. It’s my hopes to be able to set the date for some time in mid-May.”

“What! May? Why that’s barely a month and a half away. Don’t you know it takes months, sometimes years to plan a wedding? How are you ever going to pull off a mid-May wedding?”

“I know these things usually take forever, but I’m hoping that if I can get the dress and the venue all worked out then the rest shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Also, I was thinking of sending out the invitations electronically and not through the mail. I’ve never set anything like that up, so I was hoping you might be able to do that for me.”

“Oh, of course brother-in-law, I can handle that. Just send me a list of email addresses and I’ll have it done in no time. What about food? Do you have a menu in mind?”

“Well, uh, no. I was also hoping you’d take care of that, too. Nothing too fancy, you know Helga’s tastes, she’s pretty down to earth.”

“Yes, I know my baby sister. Well, once I know what sort of venue you book I will plan the menu accordingly. Oh Arnold, I’m just so happy for the two of you! You truly are a fantastic brother-in-law!”

“Oh, um, uh thanks, Olga. I appreciate that. Okay then, I’ll be checking out places this weekend so I’ll let you know what I come up with. Thanks again.”

“Anytime Arnold! Bye for now!”

As he hangs up he can’t help but be amazed at how different two people from the same parents can be. Although, while there are obvious differences between the two, they are also a lot alike in a lot of ways. They both know what they want, it’s just the way they go about getting it that is different. That, he assumes, must stem from how differently they were treated as children. 

“Oh, well, you can’t change what’s in the past.” He thinks to himself as he shakes the cobwebs out of his head and finally begins to tackle the work on his desk.

xxxxx

It’s been a good ten minutes since the start of first lunch, and Charles slowly makes his way through the lunch line. Not really hungry he just throws a carton of milk and a large peanut butter cookie on his tray and calls it good. He scans the lunchroom looking for an empty table when he sees Tonya sitting by herself, her face lost in a book. He’s felt bad ever since their last conversation and decides it’s time to try to heal the wounds that their words had created. So taking a deep breath in, he walks up to her table and stands quietly as he waits for her to acknowledge him.

She feels his presence long before she sees him, her emotions battling inside of her. On the one hand, she’s still mad over what he said to her, but on the other his gifts and poetic words have softened her, causing her to suddenly long for his company. So without looking at him she kicks the empty chair that sits opposite of her out from the table, offering him a place to sit.

When he doesn’t immediately respond she finally looks up at him. “Well, are you going to take a seat, or are you going to just stand there all lunch period staring down at me?”

Relieved at the olive branch she has presented to him, he sets his tray on the table and sits down across from her. 

“Uh, thanks. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be welcomed or not.”

She finally lifts her eyes to peer at him over her book. Closing it, she leans back in her chair, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Well, I had considered ignoring you, but I’ve always had this soft spot for lost puppies so I couldn’t bring myself to turn you away.”

Her words bring a smile to his face and he knows that things are going to be okay between them.

“Lost puppies huh? So, how have you been?”

“I’ve been okay. You?”

“I won’t lie, I’ve been better. I’m sorry for the things I said the other day. You know I didn’t mean them.”

“Yeah, me too.” She looks at his choice of lunch, her words coming out playfully sarcastic. “Well, I see you’ve finally started making healthier food choices.”

“Hey, this is perfectly healthy. You got dairy from the milk, and your grains and protein from the wheat and peanut butter in the cookie. Perfectly healthy.”

“Yeah, and tons of fat and sugars to go with it.”

“Well, I never said it was a perfect lunch. So, I saw you carrying around a huge bouquet of balloons this morning. A love offering from Blake perhaps?”

She raises one eyebrow as she narrows her eyes. It amuses her to see him acting like he has no idea what’s going on. “No, actually. They were more of a gift from a secret admirer.”

Now it’s his turn to raise both of his eyebrows. “Oh really? You have an admirer huh? Any idea as to who it could be?”

She stares him down for a minute, searching his eyes for any hint of a confession but sees none. “Ohhh, there may be a guy or two on my list of suspects.”

“Just guys? It could be a girl, you know.”

“Ohhh, way to try to throw me off track.” She thinks to herself. “I may have considered that, but, honestly, I highly doubt it’s a girl.”

“If you say so.” He breaks off a piece of cookie, dunking it in his milk. “So, you really don’t have any idea who they’re from?”

“Nope, not really. Although, whomever it is, they are pretty well-versed when it comes to their Shakespeare.”

“Shakespeare huh? Well that definitely takes Blake out of the picture.”

“Hey, you don’t know that!”

Charles holds his hands palm side out in front of him. “Okay, okay, no Blake jokes. I’m sorry, but you do have to admit, the guy’s idea of poetry hardly goes beyond limericks.” 

She’s amused that he has the same opinion as far as Blake’s knowledge of fine poetry as she does and can’t help but to chuckle. “I can’t argue with you there. But, no, I’m pretty sure it’s not Blake too.” 

She decides to play with him a little, just for fun. “You don’t happen to know who the sender might be, do you.”

“Who? Me? No, I have absolutely no idea who could have sent you those balloons.” He looks authentically bewildered and she can see it isn’t going to be easy getting him to confess.

“If you say so, but I must say, whomever it is that is sending me all these notes and such, they are very romantic.”

She swears she almost saw the tiniest flicker of satisfaction in his eyes, but it was gone in an instant before he brushed off her words. “Heh, romance. This whole thing has corny written all over it if you ask me.”

“Well, like I said before, you wouldn’t know romance if it came up and bit you on your ass.”

“And like I’ve said, YOU, can’t tell real romance when it’s staring you right in the face.”

Now it’s Tonya’s turn to keep the peace. “Okay, okay, let’s just drop this before we end up not speaking to each other yet AGAIN.”

“Good point. Truce? He holds out his hand to her.

“Truce.” She says reaching out to take his hand. As their fingers touch an unseen spark flows through the both of them as their eyes lock for the briefest of seconds. Shaking it off, they let go of their hands and sit in an awkward silence.

Not knowing what else to say, Charles picks up his now empty tray and stands to leave. “Well, it was good talking to you, good luck with your secret admirer. I’ll see ya around.”

“Yeah, thanks. I’ll catch you later.” She watches his back as he walks away, the words from the last three poems stuck in her head. She brings her hand to her heart as it does a little skip and she thinks to herself. “Could I be falling for………….Nah, I can’t be. It’s CHARLES for cripes sake. It’s definitely just my imagination.”

xxxxx

It’s becoming routine for Helga and Phillip to spend a good 30 minutes sitting on the family room floor engaging in tummy time activities as they wait for Arnold to come home from work. It’s now just a few days short of six months since Phillip was born and his development has been moving forward in leaps and bounds. Right now he is sitting upright by himself with nothing propping him up as he claps his hands while Helga sings one of his favorite children’s songs. He watches as she rocks her head and sways her body back and forth in exaggerated movements to the beat of the song. His eyes locked on hers as he gurgles and coos doing his best to sing along. It’s this song Arnold hears as he enters the house through the kitchen door.

“Way out on the ocean  
Far beyond the seven seas  
There’s a tiny little boat  
Faith is keeping it afloat  
And a tiny little skipper with his worn and tattered coat  
You see the law of the ocean  
Says you shall never fail  
If you use your heart as a rudder  
Faith as a compass  
And a blanket for a sail……..”

Arnold stands in the doorway to the family room, once again in awe of his wife as she sings to their son, all inhibitions thrown to the wind. She notices him from the corner of her eye and motions for him to come over. Obeying, he sits next to her, his obedience rewarded by Phillip’s happy wails. He reaches out for his son, placing him on his lap as he joins his wife in singing Phillip’s favorite song. He turns his face to Helga’s and their eyes meet as they finish the song, their smiles as big as their son’s. When they are finished they continue to sit with Phillip as he continues on with his tummy time.

Helga leans in and gives Arnold a welcome home kiss. “Hey there handsome. How was your day?”

“Oh, the usual, nothing exciting. How about you? Did you two have fun while I was slaving away at work?”

“Eh, it was the same as any other day. Although there was one unexpected thing. I got a phone call from Sid this afternoon.”

Arnold’s attention is at full alert at the mention of Sid’s name. “Sid? That’s odd. What did he want?”

“Right, I thought so too. Well, it seems that he’s been chosen to take part in this contest, the prize is a five page spread in this bridal magazine. Apparently he’s talked Princess Rhonda into modeling for it as a bride, and he’s looking for girls to be dressed as bride’s maids.”

“Hmm, that sounds like a good opportunity for him if he should win. So what did he want with you?”

“This is the hysterical part, he asked me to play a bride’s maid. Can you believe that?”

“That doesn’t sound so outrageous to me. You told him you’d do it, right?”

She lets out a loud guffaw before she answers. “Of course not! Come on, Arnoldo, me getting all dolled up just to stand around posing like a statue? No way Jose.” 

Arnold starts to worry. If Helga doesn’t agree to play the part of bride’s maid his whole plan could go up in smoke. “Helga, you HAVE to do it.”

“Why do I HAAAVE to do it?”

“Because, Sid needs you. Plus think about how willing he was to help us out with our Christmas pictures, and the great price he gave us. You can’t say no, it wouldn’t be right. Besides, he’s our friend and we help our friends in times of need.”

“Criminy, Arnoldo, way to make someone feel guilty. Okay, I’ll think about it and let Sid know what I decide in the morning. Sheesh.”

He can tell by her demeanor that he’s convinced her to help Sid out and he relaxes. Picking up his son, he kisses Helga on the top of her head as he goes off to change out of his work clothes.

“That’s my girl. Once you see how happy Sid’s going to be you’ll know you’ve done the right thing, you’ll see.”

“Whatever you say, Arnoldo, but if I end up looking like a fool when this is all over it’s your butt that I’m kicking.”

He smiles as he walks away, mentally checking off yet another item from his list.


	85. Chapter 85

He’s propped himself up on his forearms as he looks down into her face. Her eyes are closed and she just barely bites her bottom lip as she slowly moves in sync with him. Her hands hold onto his bottom, her nails slightly digging into the fleshy mounds. She’s always referred to his butt as “cute” whenever she’d watch him from behind. Next to his green eyes and permanently tousled hair it was one of her favorite features. Well, maybe that and his broad chest, or muscled arms or maybe even the tiny little pouch of a tummy he’s started to develop due to the improvement of her cooking skills. All that’s forgotten now as she concentrates on his movements. The slow in and out rhythm clouding her mind, casting all other thought away.

As he hovers over her he is careful to keep the bulk of his weight from crushing her. He studies her face, getting an up close and personal view. His eyes glance over to the space between her eyebrows. It’s just starting to fill in again, which means a trip to the beauty salon to get them waxed will be on its way. A part of him kind of wishes she’d just let her eyebrows grow out like they used to be. He liked the old look, it was unique and a big part of her. But he could see how a childhood of being teased about them would cause her to do whatever she could to get rid of them now. Heck, he spent his childhood being teased about the shape of his head. He doesn’t know how he’d be feeling now if his body hadn’t finally grown into it. Sure, it was still sort of noticeably misshapen, but nothing like it was as a kid. 

His thoughts are brought back to the current task at hand when he hears a soft mewl from under him. He smiles at her as her eyelids slowly lift, giving him a partial view of her blue eyes. Her beautiful, blue eyes. Eyes that with one look can convey her every emotion. Like how when she’s happy they sparkle with a bright blue the color of a clear sky in May. Or how when she’s angry they deepen to a midnight blue so dark you feel the need to hold on to something solid so you don’t get drawn into them, only to be spit out bruised and battered. As for now, her eyes are somewhere in between, the majority of the blue pushed out of the way by the blackness of her aroused pupils. 

After giving him a quick glance, she closes those eyes once more, her long eyelashes brushing the zenith of her rosy cheeks. He brings his forehead to hers as he continues his slow in and out rhythm, pausing every third or fourth stroke to press deeper into her with a soft grind of his hips. It’s this grinding that brings about her soft moans, and her soft moans that cause him to get lost inside of her. He feels her nails dig deeper into his skin and he knows it’s time to fuel her fire. So, shifting his weight to one arm, he slides his now free hand to her side, slowly sliding it up to her breasts. There’s a catch in her breath as he begins to massage them, his fingers playing with her hardened nipples. Her hands move up to his head and she tangles her fingers into his messy hair as he lowers his mouth and places it on her left breast, his tongue teasing her as it flicks across it. As he starts to nibble, her hands move back down and grab onto his hips as she thrusts her body upwards. The thought of how well he knows her pleases him and it’s this intimate knowledge that makes sex with her more than just a physical act. With them it’s taken to a higher, almost spiritual level. 

He’s never experienced sex with anyone else, a fact that others find hard to believe. “Haven’t you ever wondered what it’s like with other women?” Is the question that’s most asked of him and his answer is always the same. Why would he want anything else when he has perfection laying right under him? 

Her moans are getting louder now and she’s wrapped her legs around his hips. Bringing his hands to her hips, he lifts her up a bit so he is able to plunge deeper into her. He moves faster now, his pace keeping time with her moans. Shutting his eyes tight he starts to see red as each nerve ending in his body becomes alert. He’s no longer Arnold Shortman, loving father and devoted husband. In this moment he is primal Arnold, driven by the same urges that have called to men since the beginning of time itself. In these last few moments before climax the sex is raw and fevered, each partner now in it for themselves. Fighting for that sweet release that waits for them at the finish line. He hears his name being called, the sound heading directly to that part of the brain that releases the endorphins that give him the strength for that last push, the push that lights the fuse that leads to the explosion that bursts through both their bodies. With a yell they reach the finish line together, their bodies rising with the climax before slowly floating back down to earth.

They lay panting in each other’s arms now, their muscles weak from the exertion of their love making. Her head rests on his chest as he rubs his cheek across her silken hair. They don’t say anything for a few minutes as they catch their breath but that’s okay, they don’t need too. They know they love each other, just like they know that the sex they just had was not either one’s selfish need to satisfy their own cravings, but more their need to satisfy each other. 

Once his body has regained some of its strength back he props himself up on an elbow and gives her his patented crooked smile, peering at her through half lidded eyes. Her heart gives a small flutter as she smiles back.

He kisses the space between her eyebrows as he runs his fingers through her hair. “Have I ever told you how much I love the way you wake me up in the morning?”

She pulls herself up, leaning her back against the bed’s headboard. “Heh, you’d better enjoy it because you’ve got lots more years of it to come.”

“A challenge I’m more than willing to accept.”

He moves to sit up next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. There’s still a light flush to her skin and he can’t help but to lean down and give her shoulder a soft kiss. “So, have you given any more thought to helping out Sid?”

“Criminy, you’re not going to let up on this until I say yes, are you?”

“Nope. Come on, Helga, you know it’s the right thing to do. Just think of the boost it would be to his career if he was to win that spread in the magazine. Especially with him being able to get a known face like Rhonda to help out.”

“Yeah, but he’ll also have my face to cancel out hers. My negative would totally cancel out her positive.”

“What do you mean negative? You’re just as pretty as Rhonda, maybe even more so, and you know it.”

“I know nothing of the sort. Really, Arnoldo, I think Sid could do much better than me.”

“But he doesn’t want anyone else, he wants you. He wants his friends sharing in this. You have to do it. We’re a tribe, remember? And tribe members do for each other.”

“Criminy. Okay, if it will get you off my back then I’ll do it. I’ll call Sid this afternoon and tell him to count me in. You happy now?”

“Oh, you don’t know how happy I am.” He thinks to himself. Outwardly he says, “Yes, I’m very happy, and very proud of you. You know you’re doing the right thing.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m a regular saint.”

They both turn their heads to the doorway when they hear Phillip’s “I’m awake, someone come get me” yell and Helga rolls to the side of the bed, pushing her feet into her slippers. Grabbing her nightgown off the floor, she slips it on. 

“Go take your shower, Philip and I will have breakfast ready for you before you head off to work.”

He yells to her as she walks away. “Okay, and you know you’re happy about helping Sid, it shows on your face.”

Without turning to him she raises her hand in a one fingered salute before disappearing through the doorway. With a shake of his head and a chuckle, he grabs some clean clothes and heads for the shower.

xxxxx

The first of the month had finally come and Arnold was anxious to head over to the bridal shop to see what sort of deal could be made in regards to Helga’s dress. He had spent the last couple of days doing his best to get through the work on his desk and was happy to finally put the finishing touches on the letter he was writing to the parents of one of his students. It’s a kid he had been working closely with in an effort to get his grades up high enough so he wouldn’t have to suffer the harsh fate of repeating his junior year. The boy was close to giving up and dropping out completely until he met Arnold. It was Arnold’s stubbornness and undying faith in mankind that eventually turned the boy around and set him back on track. 

With the last task finally completed he was about to gather up his stuff and head over to check on the dress when there came a hesitant knock on his door. Not having any appointments scheduled for the afternoon he gives a questioning “Come in?”

He watches as the door slowly opens and is surprised to see the face of one Robert Pataki appear before him. Standing up he reaches a hand out to his father-in-law as he walks into his office. Somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind he wonders if this isn’t some sort of April fool’s joke.

“Mr. Pataki, what a surprise. Please come in and have a seat.”

Shaking Arnold’s hand, Bob gazes around his office. “So, uh this is where you work, huh?” He says, trying desperately not to sound awkward. 

“Uh, yeah. This is where I go five days a week.”

Bob looks at the family picture on Arnold’s desk as he sits down, noticing how small Phillip was and just how much the child has grown in just a few short months. He picks the picture up, smiling at it as he talks. “The three of you sitting there on that log, you make quite a nice little family. You know, the Misses and I, well, we’re kind of proud of that son of yours. Uh, of you and Helga too.”

Now Arnold is sure this must be a prank for Big Bob to say something like that to him. “Oh, uh, well gee, thanks. I’m pretty proud of Helga and Phillip myself.”

“Yeah, well, uh, Olga told us what you’re trying to do for Helga and, uh, me and Miriam, well, we think that’s a really nice thing there, and, uh, we kinda want to help you out some.”

“Oh, Mr. Pataki, that’s very nice of you, but………”

“Bob.”

“What?”

“Mr. Pataki is kinda formal, don’tcha think? You should call me Bob like everyone else.”

“Oh, okay, Bob.”

“Yeah, that’s better. Now, like I was saying, the Misses and I think what you’re doing is really thoughtful and all so we’d kinda like you to have this.” 

Reaching into his shirt pocket, Bob hands over a check to Arnold. Looking at the amount that’s written on it Arnold’s eyes grow wide as he starts shaking his head. “Oh, no, Mr. Pa…. uh, Bob, I can’t accept this, it’s way too much.”

“Nonsense. It’s the least we can do to help, especially since we never gave you two a proper wedding to begin with. Think of it as us doing our part as the parents of the bride.”

“But, Bob, $5,000! That’s………….”

“That’s a lot less than us throwing an all-out, full-blown shindig like Olga had. So in that respect we’re getting off easy. Besides, it’s time we Pataki’s started pulling together like a real family, for Phillip’s sake. So, no more about it. We want you to take that money and give our daughter the wedding she deserves.”

Not really knowing what else to say, Arnold stands, once again reaching out to shake Bob’s hand. “Thank you, sir. Thank you so much. I – I really don’t know what else to say. I’m just, overwhelmed by your generosity. Believe me, I will put every penny of this to good use. You won’t be disappointed.”

Bob shakes Arnold’s hand as his free one comes up to rub the back of his neck. A little habit that he and Arnold both seem to share. “Yeah, well don’t mention it. I should be getting back to the shop. You let me know if that’s not enough and you need more.”

“Oh, I’m sure this will be plenty, and again, thank you!”

Once Bob’s left his office, Arnold sits in disbelief and stares down at the check that Bob just handed him. He’s touched by their desire to help out and is even more convinced than ever that miracles are real and do happen when least expected. Looking at the clock he sees that he’d better get a move on if he’s going to be able to stop at the bridal shop and still make it home on time to avoid any suspicious questions from Helga about his lateness. So packing up for the day, he heads out once again for Wedding Belles.

xxxxx

 

He’s a little less embarrassed this time as he walks through the doors of the bridal shop. Most likely because, unlike last time, this time he knows what to expect. He scans the showroom floor for Cheryl. He had called her on the drive over so she’d know to expect him. After just a moment’s wait he sees her come from the back room. She wears a wide smile on her face as she makes her way over to him.

“Mr. Shortman, I was so glad to hear you were on your way over. I’ve arranged for you to meet with the owner of the shop so if you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to her office.”

Arnold’s a bit nervous as he follows Cheryl, and he hopes she was able to talk her boss into lowering the price of the dress a bit more. Sure, he has a little more leeway with Bob’s check in his pocket, but still, he’s found that weddings are expensive so he still has to work on a budget.

When they reach their destination, Cheryl gives a small knock on the door before opening it. Stepping through the doorway, Arnold sees a middle-aged woman, somewhere in her late 40’s or early 50’s, sitting behind a desk covered in various papers and material samples. Looking up, she greets Arnold with a warm smile. Cheryl makes a quick introduction before turning and giving Arnold an encouraging wink as she leaves the two alone.

“Mr. Shortman, my name is Isabella, I’m the owner of Wedding Belles. Cheryl has told me of your situation. I must say, it is a very romantic thing you are trying to do for your wife. She is a lucky woman to have such a thoughtful husband.”

“Oh, I feel like I’m the lucky one, and please, call me Arnold.”

“Alright, Arnold. Now Cheryl and I have discussed the dress you are interested in purchasing for your wife, and the short amount of time you have before the ceremony.”

“Yeah I kinda had no clue how all this wedding stuff worked when I first started out.”

“Well, normally a dress can take many months before it’s ready to leave the store, but we do have our stock of off the rack dresses that can be taken at the time of purchase.”

“Yeah, Cheryl was telling me about those. The problem is, the dress my wife fell in love with wasn’t from that rack.”

“That is a problem, but this is an older style, which will most likely be out of production by next season. So I don’t see any reason why we can’t let you have it today.”

“Oh, that would be great! Uh, that is, uh if I can afford it.”

“Yes, well, the dress has already been marked down to $900, subtract from that the 20% off sale brings it to only $720. But that doesn’t include the automatic reduction we place on dresses once they hit our off the rack section.”

With another drop in price Arnold starts to think that this just might work out after all. “How much more of a reduction are we talking?”

“Usually another 10%, but in your case, and since we are all about helping out those in our community, I am willing to let you have the dress for $500.”

Arnold’s eyes light up at the offer she has placed before him and he jumps up, grabbing her hand, giving it an over exaggerated shake. “Oh, Isabella, that’s – that’s wonderful, I can’t thank you enough. Helga is going to be so happy. I – I don’t know what to say.”

Arnold’s enthusiasm is contagious as Isabella starts to laugh. “You’re more than welcome, Arnold. Now there is the matter of the veil. That, unfortunately can’t be reduced as it is one of our more popular styles.”

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t dream of asking for any more than you’ve already done. I will gladly pay the $500 for the veil.”

“Okay then, now there is the matter of alterations. According to Cheryl the dress pretty much fit your wife without needing much work to it. We do have her measurements from when she came in with her friend. If you wish, we can make a few adjustments going off those measurements and hope for the best. The fit may not be perfect, but I think it will be close enough that no one will notice. Also, since I’m feeling generous, we’ll throw the adjustments in for free.”

Arnold doesn’t know what to say so he just stands there for a moment, his mouth agape as he nods his head. Once he’s gathered his wits about him his voice is soft, the words heartfelt. “I don’t know how to thank you enough. This means so much to me.”

“Not a worry dear boy, we are here to make a bride’s dream come true, that’s our job. If we put a rush on this we should have the dress ready in about three weeks. We’ll just need payment before we make any adjustments to the dress, of course.”

“Oh, of course. I will run to the bank tomorrow and have the money here on Saturday. My friend and I will be checking out venues on Saturday, so I’ll make sure to stop by here first.”

“Okay then. Cheryl will have a few papers for you to sign before you leave, and then we’ll see you on Saturday.”

Grabbing her hand, he gives it one last shake, his smile stretched from ear to ear. After finishing up with Cheryl he makes his way home in plenty of time to avoid any suspicious looks from Helga.

xxxxx

Later that night he lays in bed, his hands clasped behind his head as he stares up at the ceiling, that same stretched out smile plastered to his face. Helga diverts her eyes from the notes she’s writing for her latest installment of Arlo’s Adventures to look down at him. Noticing his smile she cocks an eyebrow at him. 

“What’s with the goofy smile?” She asks.

“Ohhh, it’s nothing.” He says, his eyes still looking upwards.

“Nothing, huh?” Placing her notes on the night table, she rolls over, sliding her body on top of his, looking him straight in the eyes. “Well then, maybe I should just give you something to smile about.”

Holding her face in the palms of his hands, he returns her stare. “Helga, you give me something to smile about every day.”

Unable to stop the blush that forms on her cheeks, she gives him a roll of her eyes. “Oh brother, Arnoldo, can you get any cornier?”

“I don’t know.” He says as he places a kiss on the tip of her nose. “But I can always try.”


	86. Chapter 86

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t sure as to what the requirements were in order to be married in a Lutheran church, so I Googled it and the check list that is described in this chapter is part of what I found. If the information is wrong I do apologize as it was in no way ever my intention to make light of anyone’s religion. Also, if you are unfamiliar with the paintings of Thomas Kinkade, I would urge you to Google some images. Look for the pictures of his cottages, they will greatly help with visualizing the venue where Arnold and Gerald finally end up. Again, thank you for your constant support of my little story, and as always, please enjoy…..

It is six months to the day since Phillip was born and he sits upright now in his high chair. He no longer needs the support of pillows or balled up blankets for support. Along with this milestone, Helga has resigned herself to the fact that it is time for her baby to really start on solid foods. She sits across from him with an opened jar of strained carrots in her hand. She chose carrots for his first meal thinking the sweetness might encourage him to eat. She yells for Arnold to hurry up and get downstairs so he doesn’t miss Phillip’s first feeding. 

“Hey, Arnoldo, get your butt down here already! I’m about to feed Phillip his breakfast!”

Arnold had been sitting on their bed, looking over the list of venues he and Gerald are planning to visit today. Hearing Helga’s voice, he hastily folds up the paper, shoving it into his pocket. Getting up, he makes his way downstairs.

“Okay, okay, hold your horses. I’m coming!”

As Arnold enters the kitchen Phillip looks up at him and gives him a huge, gummy smile. He bounces a bit in is seat as he continues to watch his father. Sitting next to Helga, Arnold picks up the baby food jar and examines it.

“Strained carrots, huh? Sounds yummy.” He says with a scrunch of his nose.

“Hey, no facial gestures. We don’t want Philly picking up on your ques and rejecting the carrots before he’s even tried them.”

“You’re right, let me try this again.” He looks at Phillip and gives him a big smile as he holds up the jar of carrots. “Ummmm, carrots! Yummy!”

Phillip gives him a laugh as he reaches out for the jar. Helga hands Arnold a small, plastic spoon with a picture of a teddy bear on the handle.

“Would you like to do the honors?”

Taking the spoon from Helga, he scoops a bit of the mushed up carrots into a plastic bowl, dipping the spoon into it. “Well, here goes nothing.” He says as he holds the spoon to Phillip’s mouth.

Not quite sure about what he’s supposed to do, Phillip looks from the spoon to Arnold’s face. Arnold opens his mouth making an “Ahhhhh” sound hoping that Phillip will follow suit. Rather than opening his mouth like his father, Phillip gives a clap of his hands as he giggles, leaving Arnold to continue holding the spoon in front of the boy’s face.

“Here, let me try.” Helga says as she takes the spoon from Arnold. “Come on Philly Boy, open your mouth for mama.” Helga opens her mouth as she moves the spoon towards her son’s lips. She presses the spoon to his mouth causing Phillip to part his lips. Seeing her opportunity, she carefully slides the orange blob into his mouth. Phillip gives his parents a quizzical look as his tongue proceeds to push the carrots back out. Having mixed with his saliva, the carrots become runny and ooze down his chin. With pursed lips he gives a blow, spraying his parents in carrots. 

Helga lets out a loud “AHHHH!” as she’s hit. “Criminy! He got it all over my blouse! Now I have to change before Carlos gets here.”

Wiping carrots from his cheek, Arnold can’t help but to laugh. “Well, you should have figured something like this would happen.” Turning back to Phillip, he decides to give it a try next.

“Come on, Phillip, how about you take a bite for daddy, okay?”

He brings the spoon back to Phillip’s mouth. Being the smart child that he is, Phillip realizes that there’s food on the end of that spoon so this time he opens his mouth willingly. With a smug expression on his face, Arnold turns to look at his wife. “See, nothing to it, piece of cake.”

“Oh yeah?” Helga says as she motions towards their child. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”

Having never been spoon fed before, Phillip’s natural reaction to eating is to move his tongue in a back and forth sucking motion, as if he is nursing, resulting in him pushing the food back out of his mouth. Which is why, as Arnold turns to look at his son, he sees him pushing the carrots past his lips with his tongue. To make matters worse, the boy has brought his hand to his mouth, spreading the goo across his face.

Arnold takes Phillip’s bib and begins to wipe the child’s cheeks. “Awww, Philly Boy, that’s not how we do this. Let’s try again.”

It takes patience and half a jar of carrots before Phillip finally gets the hang of it. By the time Arnold is scraping the bottom of the jar to get the final spoonful, Phillip sits eagerly waiting, mouth open as he bounces in his seat.

Taking a warm wash cloth from Helga, Arnold cleans Phillip’s face as he declares, “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Heh, speak for yourself, Arnoldo. Carlos is going to be here any minute and I still need to change my shirt. I now officially leave you on Phillip duty. He’s yours for the day.” 

She gives her husband a kiss on the top of his head as she dashes upstairs to change her clothes. Grabbing Phillip out of the highchair, Arnold feeds him a bottle of breastmilk to supplement the carrots. He’s just getting ready to sit in his favorite recliner when there’s a knock at the door.

“Oh, great, it’s the Latin Lover.” Arnold thinks to himself as he and Phillip go to answer the door. He opens it to find Carlos standing on the other side. He takes in the blue suit and slicked back hair and still isn’t quite sure he likes the idea of his wife being alone with the guy. Knowing there’s nothing he can do about it right now, he offers Carlos a hand and invites him inside.

“Oh, uh, hi, Carlos. Helga’s not ready yet, won’t you come in?”

“Thank you, Mr. Shortman.” Carlos replies, the easygoing, Latin accent not going unnoticed by Arnold.

“Call me Arnold.”

“Gladly, Arnold.” Carlos says as his gaze wanders the home’s interior. “My, what a quaint place you have here, very old-fashioned. I like it very much.”

Not sure if that was a compliment or a hidden insult, Arnold is slow to respond. “Uh, yeah. It’s been in the family for years. As a matter of fact, little Phillip here is the fourth generation of Shortman males to be raised here.”

Carlos’s eyes grow wide. “Is that so? My, how lucky you are to have so much family history surrounding you. It must make you feel very proud indeed.”

Not ever really thinking much about the history of the house, Arnold finds himself agreeing with Carlos. “Yeah, when you put it like that I am kind of proud of the place. I guess that’s why it’s so hard for me to leave it.”

“To me this house is the heart of your family, I don’t blame you for choosing to stay.”

Arnold is just starting to think that this guy might not be all that bad when he sees the look in Carlos’s eyes as Helga comes down the stairs. She has changed out of the skirt and blouse she had been wearing, choosing a pair of form fitting jeans and a clingy top instead. The outfit showing off her well-toned figure.

With a smile Carlos greets Helga, taking her hand and giving it a quick kiss. “Ah, Helga, might I say you look lovely today.”

An unexpected blush comes to Helga’s cheeks, causing Arnold’s green eyes to go cold. “Oh, uh, thank you, Carlos. I hope I’m dressed okay. I was going to wear a skirt and blouse but then thought jeans might be better just in case I decide to get down on the floor with the children.”

Taking a step back to give Helga a once over with his eyes, Carlos all but croons to her. “Oh, no, no my dear. You are dressed just fine. Now shall we go? We still have a 45 minute drive ahead of us.”

“Uh, okay, sure.” Helga says as she grabs her messenger bag and house keys. She goes to give Arnold a quick kiss on the cheek when he turns his head. Holding her close with his free arm, he gives her a deep kiss while Phillip goes to reach for her. Breaking the kiss he looks her straight in the eyes.

“Good luck with the book signing, Philip and I will miss you while you’re gone.”

“I’ll miss you, too, Arnold. You have fun with Gerald, okay. I’ll call you when we’re heading home.”

By now Phillip has grabbed on to her shirt, not wanting to let her go. Peeling her fingers off of her, she gives him a kiss, telling him that mommy will be back soon. As she leaves, Phillip stares at the closed door and lets out an ear piercing wail. It’s the first time he’s shown any type of separation anxiety and Arnold’s not quite sure how to handle it. Bouncing the boy, his mind goes back to the way Carlos was looking at Helga and he thinks to himself that this is going to be a looooong day.

xxxxx

Time is slipping by quickly and if he and Gerald are going to make it through his list of possible venue sites then he’s going to have to get going. Checking Phillip’s diaper bag, he makes sure he has enough of the essentials to get them through the day. Since they will be on the road until late afternoon he brings along a small cooler to keep Phillip’s bottles in. Once everything is loaded he secures his son into his car seat. Right now Phillip is comfortable and plays with the various toys that hang from the sides of his seat. It’s a short drive to Gerald’s apartment and as Arnold pulls up he sees his friend sitting on the stoop as he types something on his phone. Hearing Arnold’s honk, Gerald shoves his phone into his pocket as he walks up to the Packard. As he slides into his seat he and his friend partake in their signature handshake before Gerald turns to give his other main man a smile.

“Hey ya Phillip old boy, how’s it hanging?”

Phillip responds with a smile and coo as Arnold pulls away from the curb. After a quick stop at Wedding Belles to pay his bill, Arnold Pulls his list of venues out of his pocket and hands it to Gerald.

“So this is a list of places put in order of distance from the boarding house. It’s a mixture of churches and other types of wedding venues. The first place is the Lutheran church the Pataki’s used to go to for the major holidays when Helga was a kid.”

Arnold had made an appointment to meet with one of the church members and they arrive just in time. Walking into the church the first thing Arnold notices is the quiet. It’s an older church, with the typical wooden pews and stained glass windows. A bit generic though and he’s not sure if it’s really what he’s looking for. 

He introduces himself to the person he spoke to over the phone and finds out that she is the office secretary and it is her job to meet with any prospective couples that come inquiring about using the church for their wedding. After a lengthy conversation she informs Arnold that before he and Helga would be allowed to reserve the church there were some matters that needed to be attended to. 

First on the list is to complete what is called a PREPARE inventory for a nominal fee of $35.

Next up is to meet with a counselor to go over their PREPARE answer sheet.

After that they are to fill out a marriage expectations worksheet, then go over their answers with each other, followed up with yet another meeting at the church to discuss those answers as well.

Not expecting to be sent home with what he considers to be homework, he thanks the woman for her time and checks the church off his list. 

Getting back in the car he and Gerald find Phillip not quite as happy to be put back into his car seat as he was at the start of the trip. Arnold has to struggle a bit to get Phillip strapped in. They listen to the boy complain as they drive to the next address on the list. This time the venue they check out is a grassy, outdoor setting of a fancy hotel. There is a waterfall that would act as a backdrop for the ceremony, and they’d have their choice of either having the reception outside on the grassy field, or in one of the hotel’s smaller ballrooms. Arnold thinks the grassy area is pretty enough, but there’s no hiding that the waterfall is fake, plus it would not be a private service since the hotel grounds are open to any and all hotel guests. When they go inside to check the ballroom Arnold finds that it reminds him too much of an office conference setting. The thing that really kills the deal is when he inquires about the price. For the use of the outdoor area and the ballroom he is quoted a price of $5,000. This includes chairs and tables and the like, but nothing else. He would even have to pay an extra $400 to have a temporary dance floor laid down. So with that information in hand, he politely says thank you and leaves the building. 

This time when they get in the car Phillip decides to throw an actual fit. Refusing to let Arnold strap him into his seat, Phillip arches his back while screaming in Arnold’s ear. After a few minutes of fighting it, Arnold gives up and sets his son free. They walk back into the hotel’s lobby where he gives Phillip a cool bottle of breast milk. The two men sit and discuss the situation as Phillip drinks.

“Man, Arnold, if this is any indication of venue pricing, I don’t know how you’re going to pull this off.”

“I know.” Arnold says as he looks down into his child’s face. “If we were to choose this place it would eat up every cent Mr. Pataki gave me leaving nothing for the dress or food or anything. What other places are on that list I gave you?”

“Let’s see, you have four more churches and three more of these hotel type venues. What do you think? Should we continue on?”

“We have to, Gerald. I don’t want to end up holding the reception on the rooftop of the boarding house like we did last time. I want an actual place, with actual decorations and a band and flowers. I want the whole nine yards. We’ll just have to continue on. I know that there HAS to be someplace we can afford.”

Gerald gives his head a shake. “I don’t know, buddy, but if anyone can pull this off, I know it’s you. So what’s say we hit up a couple more of these places then have a nice lunch?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

Once Phillip’s finished his bottle and is in better spirits the three men take off for the next venue on the list. They spend most of the day going from venue to venue, and there always seems to be something wrong with each one. One venue is way too expensive while one church won’t let them hold their ceremony unless they are members, and the list goes on, and with each hour they spend looking, Phillip grows harder and harder to handle. 

With Phillip fussing in the back seat, they are about to give up when Gerald notices one last place on the list. “Hey, what about this place? Why is it crossed out?”

Arnold looks at the name of the venue. “Oh, that’s Hillcrest Chapel. I looked into that place but it’s pretty far out of town. I wasn’t sure people would want to travel that far. It’s all the way up in the woods.”

“Well, don’t you think that at this point it’s worth at least a look? I mean, what do we have to lose?”

“I guess we can. You want to give them a call while I drive and see if there’s someone we can talk to once we’re there?”

Ready and willing to do whatever he can to help, Gerald gives the small chapel a call and is surprised to actually have his call answered. He explains the situation to the person and lets them know that he and Arnold are on their way.

The turnoff to the chapel is a good 45 minutes from the downtown end of Hillwood. Once at the turnoff it’s another 45 minutes on a small two lane country road. As Arnold drives they take in the scenery around them. They are definitely out in the country and he is getting a very good feeling about things. There are houses scattered here and there and the further along the road they go, the further apart the houses become until they eventually find themselves in a secluded wooded area. Slowing down they kept their eyes peeled for any type of house or building. Phillip has even calmed down a bit as he watches the trees pass by as they continue down the road.

Finally, when they are sure that they have to be lost, they see it. Off to the right, surrounded by an array of trees, there stands a small stone chapel. It has a cobblestone path leading up to a large wooden door. It is surrounded on three sides by beautiful stained glass windows which depict various scenes from nature. The two windows that flank either side of the entrance are long, and run the full height of the door. The various colors of glass come together to show a pine forest, with a setting sun shining its orange rays through the branches of the trees. At the bottom is the mossy covered ground, a few flowers sit dotted about. The hinges and handle of the door are of a dark wrought iron and the wood is old and worn. If you didn’t know better, you’d swear that the whole scene had been lifted from a Thomas Kinkade painting, and placed in the middle of the forest. 

Trying the door they are glad to find it unlocked and, giving it a push, they let themselves in. They enter into a small lobby with another set of swinging doors in front of them. Each door having a small glass window that looks into the room on the other side. Against the walls on either side of the swinging doors are tables made out of logs most likely cut down from the very forest that stands outside the building. On the tables are pamphlets explaining the history of the chapel, and bibles for those who feel so inclined to take. The floor is covered in a carpet that is worn down by time, its colors, although faded, fit in perfectly with its surroundings. Looking at each other, Gerald gives Arnold a nod of his head, urging his friend onward through the swinging doors. 

As they step through Arnold’s breath is taken away as he lifts his eyes up to the high, vaulted ceiling. Hanging from which are chandeliers, their many tiny light bulbs casting an almost ethereal glow about the room. Along the two side walls sit more of the stained glass, each one a masterpiece in its own right. Along each side of the center aisle are rows of wooden pews, the wood highly polished to bring out the natural grain. At the far end of the aisle sits the altar. It consists mainly of a wooden pulpit with a large cross that hangs from the wall behind it. Draped on that cross is a lone cloth, an emblem signifying to anyone who happens to believe, the death and resurrection of their Lord and Savior. To the left of the alter is a small pump organ, and to the right a door which leads to the pastor’s quarters, along with a small gathering room for the groom and his groomsmen. 

Arnold turns to his best friend. Gerald has never seen such sincerity in his eyes before. Holding Phillip a little closer to his chest, Arnold’s voice cracks a bit as he speaks. “Can you feel it, Gerald? This is where Helga and I are meant to be. This is where we are meant to stand before God and our friends and renew our love for each other. I – I HAVE to book this place.”

Gerald looks around the intimate room, letting out a small breath before he speaks. “There is something about this place, there’s no doubt about that. But I don’t know, Arnold, I wouldn’t go getting your hopes up too high. Not yet at least.”

Their conversation is cut short when a man who looks to be at least in his mid-70’s enters the room. Noticing Phillip, he walks up to Arnold, extending a hand. “Hello, you must be Mr. Shortman. I’m Gordon, the proprietor and preacher here at Hillcrest Chapel. So I hear you’re looking to hold a vow renewal……..”


	87. Chapter 87

Arnold takes Gordon’s extended hand, giving it a hearty shake. “Yes, that’s right. Please, call me Arnold.” He nods his head towards his friend. “This is Gerald, he’s my best man, and this little guy is Phillip.”

At the mention of his name, Phillip looks at his dad before turning a suspicious gaze towards Gordon. After shaking Gerald’s hand, Gordon reaches out, taking Phillip’s tiny hand into his own. “And it is very nice to meet you, too, young man.” He says with a sincere smile. 

Not trusting this new stranger, Phillip pulls his hand away and buries his face in Arnold’s chest as he lets out a wail. Giving his son a bounce or two, Arnold apologizes to Gordon. “I’m sorry about that, he’s not usually like this. It’s just lately that he’s become shy around people he doesn’t know very well.”

Gordon gives a little chuckle. “Oh, that’s quite alright. What is he, 6 – 7 months old?”

“He just reached the 6 month mark the other day.”

“Yep, right on schedule. All babies start to go through this around this age. Don’t worry, he’ll soon grow out of it.”

“I hope so.” Arnold says as he tries to hold onto Phillip as the boy presses his feet against his dad’s chest in an effort to climb over his shoulder. The whole time letting out annoyed cries.”

Seeing his friend struggle, Gerald offers to take Phillip off his hands. “Hey, why don’t I take Little Dude outside so the two of you can talk in peace? Come on Philly Boy.”

Phillip willingly goes to his Uncle Gerald and keeps a close eye on Gordon as the two leave the chapel’s sanctuary. 

Arnold watches them disappear through the double doors before turning back to Gordon. “Well, uh, that’s better, I guess.”

Gordon claps his hands together as he smiles back at Arnold. “So, your friend explained to me that you are looking for a place to hold a vow renewal. You’ve seen the sanctuary, why don’t we step into my office where we can talk details.”

Eager to get down to the meat of the matter, Arnold gladly follows Gordon through the door that leads to a quiet hallway. It’s your typical hallway, with nothing specific jumping out at Arnold. To the right are two bathroom doors each labeled for use by either men or women. Past that is a door that leads to what would be the staging room for him and his friends. Across from that room is Gordon’s office. 

Stepping inside Arnold sees your average wooden desk with what looks like a very comfortable leather swivel chair behind it. The wall directly in back of the desk is lined with a built-in bookcase, filled with an array of books, framed pictures and small decorative statues. Taking up the space in the middle of the desk is a blotter, the paper on top of it showing a calendar page for the current month. There are notes scribbled on the various squares that indicate the specific days of the week. To the right is a small desk lamp and to the left an old fashioned rotary phone, the likes of which he doesn’t think he’s ever actually seen in use before. Even the old boarding house used a push-button phone. In the middle of all this sits a large Bible. Its leather binding is worn, showing many years’ worth of use. 

Taking a seat behind the desk, Gordon motions for Arnold to sit down. As he does so he gets the feeling of having stepped back into time. The serenity of the sanctuary having cast its spell into the rest of the building. Clasping his fingers together on top of the desk, Gordon looks at Arnold through a pair of old, wire rimmed glasses and speaks in a soft tone.

“So, how long have you and your wife known each other?”

“Um, well, the farthest back I can remember is preschool.”

This surprises Gordon and he looks at Arnold with widened eyes, and gives a little chuckle. “Preschool? Why you really are childhood sweethearts, aren’t you?”

Arnold lifts his hand to the back of his neck, giving it an embarrassed rub. “Um, sort of. We didn’t actually come together as a couple until near the end of middle school. But I guess we did always kind of feel something for each other, sort of like we were kindred spirits, meant to be together.”

“I see, and how long have you been married?”

“It will be six years in August. We got married by a Justice of the Peace right before heading off to college, so the first four years of our married life was spent in dorms and campus apartments.”

“My, that says a lot about the strength of your relationship if it could not only survive the pressures of those living conditions, but still be going strong to this day. The two of you must be deeply in love.”

“Oh, yes, there is no one that means more to me than my wife. Well, perhaps Phillip, but that’s a different kind of love, you know. Regardless, I would do anything for either one of them.”

“I don’t doubt your sincerity, I can see it in your eyes that you mean what you say. So, will you be wanting to use just the chapel, or would you want use of the backyard area and the cottage as well?”

“Backyard area?”

“Yes, we have a nice little area out back for an outdoor reception. We don’t provide any furniture or tableware mind you, that you’d have to get through your caterer, but we do have a small dance floor we can put down and a little stage for a band. Although, we have regulations on music. Nothing too loud you see. Lastly, anything set up by the caterer must be taken away by the evening of the next day or there will be an additional fee.”

“Oh that wouldn’t be a problem, and as for the noise level, I have this small four piece jazz band I’ve been trying to get a hold of, so the music would be pretty low key.”

“Good, now if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to the backyard.”

Arnold follows Gordon back down the hallway to a final door that empties out to a good size back area. It is unfenced and surrounded by the flora of the woods. Strung across the main area are hundreds of tiny white light bulbs that when turned on at night provide the only lighting for the area. It is quiet as Arnold stands, taking in the scene before him, the silence only broken by the sound of a mountain blue jay as it calls to its mate.

“This is incredible.” Arnold says as he stands in awe. “Um, you mentioned something about a cottage?”

“Oh, yes, the cottage. You see that path that heads off to the forest? It leads to a small cottage that comes with the rental of the Chapel. There’s no electricity to it but there are a few hurricane lamps that provide ample light. It’s rustic, but it is hooked up to the plumbing so you don’t have to worry about making any middle of the night treks into the forest. It’s a secluded little cottage for the bride and groom to spend their wedding night. Well, in your case, your vow renewal night. It’s very romantic. Also, across the street and up a ways is where my wife and I live. On the morning of the wedding we open it up to the bride and her party as a place to dress and get ready. Again, she’d have to bring all her supplies, but it is convenient, especially with how far from everything we are up here. Oh, and one last thing, if you need an officiant, I am an ordained minister and my service is included in the rental price of the chapel. Now come, lets’ go back to my office and discuss the specifics.”

Once the two are settled back in Gordon’s office, Arnold looks at him and gives his head a small shake. “This – this all looks and sounds just too good to be true. I need to know, just how much does all this cost?”

Arnold waits with bated breath as Gordon studies him. Sitting back in his chair, Gordon crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Well, we are not here as a money maker, we are here to spread God’s love, and to do what we can for our fellow brothers and sisters. That is why we treat each case differently, charging not a set price, but more what people can afford. The price I agree to with you, may be more or less than what I would agree to with someone else. Do you understand?”

Arnold’s hopes are looking up as he answers Gordon. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

“Now, I want you to be honest with me, just what kind of a budget are you working with?”

“Well, I’ve been given $5,000 from my wife’s parents, and if need be I can probably scrape together a few more thousand without putting too much of a strain on my wife and I. I’ve already bought her a dress without her knowing it, which came to just over $1,000. So I have approximately $4,000, give or take, for everything else.”

Gordon gives Arnold a raise of his eyebrows. “You bought your wife a dress without her seeing it? You are a bold man indeed.”

Arnold gives a little chuckle. “No, it’s not what you think. Her best friend is getting married and the two of them were wedding dress shopping when her friend convinced her to try on a dress that my wife had fallen in love with. That’s the dress I bought for her.”

Gordon is touched by Arnold’s thoughtfulness and decides right then that he needs to make this work for couple. “That was very thoughtful of you. Now, getting back to business. From what I’ve heard, I don’t think it’s too outrageous for me to offer you a rental fee of, say, $500 for the night. That’s for the use of the chapel, which, by the way, comfortably holds a maximum of 100 people, so keep that in mind when you send out your invitations. You’ll need to leave room for people’s plus ones. It also includes an officiant, the back yard area, the cottage and use of our house for the bride to get ready in.”

Arnold sits dumbfounded at the price Gordon has offered him. He was expecting it to be twice that amount. Especially since he was getting everything he needed wrapped up on one single package. “I – I, that’s so, generous of you. I – yes, yes that’s perfect. I’ll take it!” Arnold is standing now as he reaches across Gordon’s desk to shake his hand. 

Arnold’s enthusiasm is contagious and Gordon can’t help but to laugh as he returns the handshake. “Well, I guess all that’s left is the date. I heard you are looking for somewhere around mid-May.”

“That’s right. I hope it’s not going to be a problem.”

“Well, luckily what you are asking for is just before our busy period. We usually start booking up in June and stay booked through the holidays. You wouldn’t believe how popular we are around Christmas time with everyone wanting a winter wonderland wedding. Now lets’ see what we have open.”

Flipping the April calendar page to May, Arnold notices quite a few of the little squares already taken up with notes and his heart drops a bit. 

“Hmmm, you said mid-May….” Gordon says as he studies the calendar. “I can do ether Saturday the 12th, or Sunday the 20th.”

Arnold pulls up the dates of Phoebe’s spring break in his mind. With her break running from the 12th to the 20th the ceremony would either have to be right when she gets into Hillwood, or the day she’ll have to leave to head back home. Neither date ideal, but he figures it would be better for it to be at the beginning, that way she’d have the rest of the week to relax and she wouldn’t have to spend a week hiding from Helga. With that in mind, he settles for Saturday, May 12th. 

“Well, I guess the 12th would probably work out best, so please, put us down for May 12th.”

“Ahh, very nice, Mother’s Day weekend, what better of a gift for your wife than a renewal of your wedding vows.”

Arnold hadn’t thought about Mother’s Day. He kind of likes the idea of giving Helga a vow renewal for her first ever Mother’s Day. “That’s perfect!” He says, his smile permanently plastered to his face.

So with a handshake to seal the deal, and a 50% down-payment, Arnold can happily check off the biggest of the “to do’s” on his list. 

xxxxx

Stepping back outside the chapel, Arnold shakes Gordon’s hand one last time and makes arrangements to get back in touch with him one more time before the vow renewal. Walking back to the car he looks for Gerald and his son. He doesn’t see them until he walks across the street to a grassy area that is shaded by trees. He smiles as he sees that Gerald had taken a blanket from the car and spread it out on the cool grass. He lays on his side watching Phillip who lays contentedly on his stomach and plays with some blades of grass that stick up over the sides of the blanket. There is an empty baby bottle laying off to the side, with a couple of crumpled up candy wrappers sitting next to it. Seeing Arnold approach, Gerald sits up, gesturing for his friend to take a seat. 

“So…” Gerald says as his friend sits down. “How’d it go? Any luck?”

Having rolled to his back, Phillip reaches his arms out to his father, giving him a soft coo. Picking his son up, Arnold places him in his lap and answers his friend. “Honestly, Gerald, it couldn’t have gone any better. Everything about this place is perfect. There’s a real cozy back area for the reception, and a room for the guys to change in and even a cottage at the end of this gravel path for Helga and me to spend the night if we want. He and his wife will also open their home up to Helga and the girls to get ready in.”

“Sounds perfect!”

“Yeah, almost too perfect. I can’t believe how things are falling into place, and how willing everyone is to help. I’m having trouble wrapping my head around it.”

“I’m not surprised at all. The way I see it is that karma is finally paying you back for a lifetime of unselfish acts on your part. Think of how much you’ve helped people over the years, Arnold, it’s no wonder that now, with you being the one in need, everyone is scrambling to help you out.” 

“Do you really think so?”

“I’d bet my life on it. So if I were you, I wouldn’t question it, I would just accept what’s happening and enjoy it.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m going to do just that. Helga and I deserve this.”

They spend a few more minutes just enjoying the quiet that surrounds them before getting back in the car for the 90 minute drive home. Phillip isn’t happy about being put back into his car seat and tries his best to squirm out of Arnold’s grasp as he gets secured. Eventually, Arnold is able to strap him in, placing a few toys in Phillip’s lap to entertain him. Not happy, Phillip kicks his legs a bit before giving up, his lower lip pushed out in a pout. Arnold drives up the road a few yards and sees the house that Gordon was talking about.

“That must be Gordon’s house. That’s where the girls will get ready, then it’s just a short walk to the chapel.”

Gerald studies the small house. “That’s good that it’s not right across from the place, that way Helga won’t notice the cars as people start to arrive.”

Arnold hadn’t thought about the cars that would be parked in front of the chapel. That would surely be a dead giveaway that something was up. “Hmmm, I didn’t think about the cars. Maybe we should have people park their cars a little ways down from the chapel so Helga doesn’t notice them when she makes her way over. I’ll have to have Olga mention it in the invites.” 

“Knowing Helga and how observant she is, I think that that’s a very good idea.”

The rest of the ride back to Hillwood is spent in relative quiet. Phillip sits passed out in his car seat while the two men talk softly as they go over plans for the catering company and jazz band. Gerald brings up the fact that Arnold is going to want to get a wedding cake, so Arnold mentally adds finding a bakery to his list of to do’s. 

Once they’ve finally returned to Hillwood Arnold drops Gerald at his apartment then makes his way back to the boarding house. Exhausted from the day, he lays on the couch, his still sleeping son laid stretched out on his chest. 

xxxxx

A half an hour later Helga comes walking in through the front door. She had tried calling Arnold to let him know that she was on her way home but he wasn’t picking up his calls. Dropping her messenger bag on the floor she places her house keys in the ceramic bowl that sits on the entry way table. She calls out for her husband but does not get a response. Checking the family room she sees both her men passed out on the couch. She stands over them, arms crossed in front of her as she gives her head a little shake. She giggles to herself as she gently wakes Arnold up.

“Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up.”

Slowly opening his eyes, Arnold sees Helga and gives her a smile. “Oh, hey, Helga, welcome home. How’d it go with the book signing?”

“Oh, same as last time. You look exhausted. Was Phillip that much trouble for you?”

“Oh, uh, no, not at all. He was the perfect angel. We, uh, we just decided to take a little nap together, yeah, that’s all, just a nap.”

Hearing his mother’s voice, Phillip awakes, pushing himself up from his father’s chest as he smiles at his mommy. Reaching for him, Helga holds him in her arms giving him a big kiss. Arnold sits up making room for her on the couch. She sits bouncing her son on her knees when she notices something out of place. Looking between Phillip’s fingers she finds a few small pieces of grass. She gives Arnold a puzzled look.

“How on earth did Phillip get into grass? Where were you two today?”

Thinking quickly Arnold gives Helga an evasive answer. “Ohhh, you know, we spent the day here and there, doing man things. You, uh, you wouldn’t understand.”

He gets up, dropping a kiss on Helga’s forehead. “Since you’re back on Phillip duty, I’m going to sneak in a quick shower, then you can tell me all about your day with Carrrrlos.”

She watches him through narrowed eyes as he leaves the family room. Wiping the grass from between Phillip’s sticky fingers she softly whispers to herself, “Man things, huh? Something’s going on with you Arnold Shortman, and I’m going to do my best to find out what it is.”


	88. Chapter 88

Helga’s alarm goes off early on Sunday morning and she reaches out to quickly turn it off so it doesn’t wake up Arnold. Today’s book signing is a little further out than yesterday’s was so there’s no time to waste. She thinks about yesterday’s book signing as she drags herself out of bed. She wasn’t sure what it was going to be like being alone in a car with Carlos. She had prepared herself for an awkward ride, but in reality it turned out to be quiet pleasant. It turns out that under that designer suit and well-coiffed hair was a pretty easygoing guy. 

She also found that they had a lot in common as far as authors and writing styles. It turns out that he is quite a poet too. They spent a good portion of the ride reciting original poems that they had written, and at one point even filled some of the time by playing a game where one person would give a word or topic, and the other had to come up with a poem consisting of at least four stanzas. By the time they had reached the book store they had lost their original awkwardness, replacing it with a budding friendship. 

Once at the small store it became all business as Helga was given a short tour of the place. As with her first signing she was to sit among the children as she read her book to them, this followed by a short meet and greet finally ending with the signing and hopeful sale of the newest book to join the Arlo universe.

Once the store’s patrons were let in and a small crowd began to form, Carlos took up his spot at the back of the room where he stood watch. Every so often Helga would lift her gaze to him and he would smile sweetly, nodding his head as if to encourage her on. 

She was beginning to feel relaxed in his presence. That is until the end of the day. Once the crowd had dispersed Carlos had walked up to Helga to give her a congratulatory hug that lasted, in Helga’s mind at least, just a few Mississippi’s too long. When the hug ended she studied his face but didn’t see any signs of flirtation, so she wondered if it had just been her imagination after all. 

The ride back to Hillwood was a bit more subdued, most of it spent with Helga looking out the passenger side window. Carlos figured she was just taking the past events of the day in, letting them settle in her mind, so he left her to her thoughts. Once they arrived at the boarding house she said a quick thank you before practically jumping out of the car. Again Carlos noted the odd behavior but this time chalked it up to being a long day and her missing her son and husband.

She kept her feelings to herself that night, concentrating more on why there were bits of grass between her son’s fingers. If Arnold had just said they spent the afternoon at the park that would have sounded logical and she would not have given it a second thought. But no, he did not say that. Instead he put on an almost guilty expression as he all but avoided her question, giving some lame “man time” excuse. “Heh, man time!” She thinks to herself. Yes, something was up, but she just couldn’t imagine what it could be. She decided to keep giving him rope thinking that eventually he’d have enough to hang himself with it. Then she would pounce and find out just what was up. But for now she continues to patiently bide her time. 

Arnold and Phillip are up by the time she’s finished showering and getting dressed. She joins them in the kitchen, Phillip sitting in his high chair as Arnold feeds him a breakfast of strained plums and baby cereal. Looking at his mommy, Phillip gives her a toothless smile that is covered in plums. He bounces a bit in his seat as he grabs for the spoon Arnold is holding out in front of him. Wrapping his chubby fist around the spoon he gives it a tug, pulling it out of Arnold’s grasp. He proceeds to raise it to his head, mashing the purple fruit into his cornflower hair. 

“Oh Phillip, look what you did.” Arnold says as he reaches for the washcloth that sits on the kitchen table.

Phillip replies with a laugh and a shake of the spoon, sending what’s left of the plums sailing through the air.

Helga has to take a quick step backwards to avoid getting hit. “Hey, watch it Philly, I don’t want a repeat of yesterday morning, I don’t have time to change my clothes!”

Arnold gives her a look, his gaze running from her shoulders to her toes. Again she’s dressed in jeans and, what he considers, a t-shirt that could stand to be one size bigger. At least where spending the day with Carlos is concerned. Funny how he doesn’t mind her close fitting clothes when HE’S the one escorting her around. Carlos, though, is another story. Trying his hardest not to sound like the jealous husband, he inquires about her day.

“So, more of the same today, huh?”

“Yeah, should be an exact copy of yesterday, only I may not be home until after dinner tonight.”

Arnold is not happy about this little bit of information. “Oh? And why is that?”

“Well, this book store is quite a bit further away, and if the guests linger like they did yesterday, we may not get out of there as early.”

“Hmmff. I don’t mind eating a late dinner, you know.” Arnold says with almost a pout.

“Your jealous side is showing again.” Helga says with a smirk. “I’ve told you, there’s absolutely no reason for you to be jealous.”

“And I’ve told you, I’m not jealous.”

“Fine, believe what you want.”

Arnold is about to say something back when they hear a knock at the door. “I’ve got to go.” Helga says as she drops a kiss on Arnold’s head. “You two try to stay out of trouble today. I’ll text you when the signing is over. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He replies as he watches her leave the room. Turning his attention back to his son he finds that Phillip had gotten a hold of the bowl with the plums and cereal in it and was currently wearing it as a hat. 

“Oh, Phillip.” Arnold says as he shakes his head, grabbing the bowl and removing his son from the highchair. “Looks like someone needs a morning bath.

xxxxx

The drive out of town is a long one and Helga sits in silence, doing her best not to catch Carlos’s eye. He notices the change in her demeanor and wonders if she’s feeling well.

“So, how are you feeling this morning, Helga? You seem awfully quiet. Is everything okay at home?”

She wonders why he’s so interested in her home life and stumbles over her words. “What? Oh, uh, no, I’m fine, I feel fine. Everything’s fine at home. I’ve – just got a lot on my mind. I’ve got a couple of articles that are coming due, plus I’ve got the next installment of Arlo that needs to be submitted before the dead line. So, uh, yeah, just a lot on my mind right now.”

“That’s a lot of pressure for one person, especially when trying to raise a little one.” Carlos says as he places his hand on top of hers, giving it a friendly pat.

Surprised as the sudden contact, Helga nervously pulls her hand out from under Carlos’s, placing it in her lap. “Oh, well, uh, sometimes I do my best work under pressure.”

“But still, raising a child is a very important job, and takes a considerable amount of time and attention. Perhaps you should consider letting go of one of your other commitments. Especially with how popular your book is becoming.”

A bit miffed at the audacity of Carlos to even think he knows what’s good for her, Helga becomes defensive. “I do just fine raising my child thank you very much! I don’t need you or anyone telling me how to do my job as a mother!”

“Seeing he’s angered Helga, Carlos starts to back paddle. “No, of course not. I would never dream of telling you how to do your job. It is obvious that you are a very loving and devoted mother. I was only suggesting that perhaps all you have taken on was becoming a bit too stressful for you. There was no disrespect intended.”

Realizing that she had misinterpreted Carlos’s friendly gesture, she feels bad for yelling at him. “No, don’t be sorry, it was my fault. I guess that when it comes to Phillip I can be a little oversensitive.” 

There’s a little sparkle to his eyes as he smiles at her, indicating that all is forgiven. Feeling more in control of her emotions, she relaxes a bit. “Blue skies.” She says as she looks out the window.

“Pardon?”

“That’s your prompt, blue skies.”

With a laugh Carlos proceeds to come up with a four stanza poem about blue skies and the rest of the drive is spent in pleasant company once again.

xxxxx

Arnold sits in his recliner while Phillip enjoys a ride in his baby swing. He had just finished setting up an appointment for cake tasting Monday during his lunch break, and another one for later that afternoon. He had discussed with Olga to add a note to the invitations for everyone that, because this is to be a secret, they should not park too close to the chapel, and a second note stating that gifts are not expected. Olga promises to have the Evites sent out before the end of the evening. They also discussed menu options and Olga felt, that with the quaint outdoor setting, a more casual dinner of barbequed beef brisket and chicken breast would be fitting along with a vegetarian choice for the non-meat eaters. To go along with the protein there will be skewered vegetables and either rice pilaf or baked potato and a fresh green salad with baskets of fresh baked bread. She has a caterer that she uses for all the fundraisers she and Samuel put on and she assures Arnold that she will have no problem with the quick deadline. She’s put on many a last minute soiree and is a good client, so she is sure the company will bend over backwards if need be to keep their business. 

He looks at the names on the guest list he’s come up with, it’s a nice mix of old friends, work friends and people from the neighborhood that have known them all their lives. He’s pretty sure that they all will do what they can to attend. The only two he’s not sure about is Thaddeus and Brayden. Once the gang graduated from high school, Thad all but disappeared off the face of the earth. You never knew when he was going to pop up, and he never left any contact information when he left, so the best anyone could do is leave messages at his old email address and hope for the best. 

Now Brayden, well, he was another story. When he left for New York to start his private investigations business he said it was because there would just be more business in the Big Apple. But Arnold knew the real reason he left. It was because of the lingering feelings he still held for Helga. Arnold still harbors a touch of guilt over that whole ordeal, but he also defends his actions, always stating that it never would have lasted between Brayden and Helga, and that the only reason she started dating good ole “Brainy” was because she didn’t think she had a chance with him. Sure, what Arnold did could technically be considered underhanded, but, well, like he keeps telling himself, all’s fair in love and war, right? Besides, he never expected the guy to drop his long time childhood nickname and move clear across the country to start a new life for crying out loud. He knows the guy is still important to Helga, so he really hopes Brayden will accept the invitation and show up. 

His phone rings, startling him out of his thoughts. It’s one of the guys from the jazz band he’s been trying to get a hold of. He explains the situation to him, keeping his fingers crossed that they don’t have any prior engagements on their calendar. He’s happy to find that once again karma is on his side, so after a bit of negotiation in regards to money he happily has one more thing he can check off his list.

Feeling pretty good about things, he glances at the time. It’s well after five with no word from Helga. He sits and stews a bit over her being out all day with Carlos but with nothing he can do about it he decides to give Gerald a call and see if he’s up for grabbing a quick dinner. With dinner plans set, he packs up Phillip’s diaper bag and, picking up his son, begrudgingly heads out the door.

xxxxx

It was another successful book signing, with today’s crowd being a little bigger than yesterday’s. It was a chattier group too which made for a long, stretched out day. They had to forego lunch in order to get through the long line of patrons waiting for their books to be signed. By the time the last customer left the store it was after five o’clock and she and Carlos were starving. 

Too hungry to wait until they’ve made it back to Hillwood to eat, they stop for dinner at a quiet little Italian restaurant that the bookstore’s owner suggested. They are led to a secluded booth at the back of the restaurant. There is an intimacy to it that makes Helga a bit uncomfortable. The waiter comes over to the table asking to take their drink order. Carlos orders a bottle Chianti and Helga makes a mental note to limit herself to only one glass. They sit and talk about the day’s events, and when the wine comes it is Carlos who is the first to raise his glass in a toast.

“To you, dear Helga, and your wonderful book with its adorable cast of characters.”

A little touched by his toast, she smiles as they clink glasses. The wine is sweet on her tongue and it warms her throat on the way down. After a few more sips she begins to relax as the liquid settles in her empty stomach. With no food to absorb the alcohol she starts to feel the effects of the wine as Carlos pours her a second glass. She thinks to herself that there was something that she was supposed to do after the book signing, but for the life of her she can’t remember. So in her purse her phone sits, the text to Arnold never getting sent.

By her third glass of wine she is fully buzzed as she digs into her plate of spaghetti and meatballs, a small moan escaping her as she takes a bite of warm bread that has been slathered in softened butter. Carlos watches her eat and gives a small chuckle. She looks at him mid bite.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh, it is nothing, Helga. I just enjoy watching a woman who enjoys her food. Like the Italians, in my culture food plays a big part in bringing people closer together. It is something to be savored and shared. So it’s good to see a woman who enjoys her food.”

“Well, I’ve always been the type that could eat whatever I wanted with little worry of gaining too much weight, so I have been known to, overindulge, so to speak. Plus, I just love to eat.”

Carlos pours her a fourth glass of wine to only his second. She notices this and speaks up with a bit of a giggle to her voice. “Whoa there, Carlos old boy, not so much. I notice you’re a couple of glasses behind me. You trying to get me drunk?”

Carlos looks genuinely surprised at her words as he puts the wine bottle down. “Oh, no, Helga, nothing of the sort. It’s just that I’m driving and need to watch how much I drink. I don’t need to end the night with a DUI, or worse.”

Helga thinks about this and supposes he’s probably right. She chastises herself for thinking badly of Carlos. “You’re right, I didn’t even think of that.”

“That’s quite alright. Besides, with all you are responsible for, you could use a night to just relax.”

She looks at him through a glassy stare and notices how when he smiles he has the smallest ever dimple in his left cheek, and his eyes sparkle with mirth. He’s really not a bad looking guy, and she wonders why he hasn’t married yet. Emboldened by the effects of the wine, she decides to pry into his personal life a bit.

“Hey, Carlos?”

“Yes, Helga?”

“So what’s your story?”

“My story? I don’t know what you mean.”

“You know, your story. Where were you born? What was your family life like? You ever been in love?”

“Ahh, you want to know what makes me tick.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Well, Helga, my story starts almost 29 years ago when I was born the second of five children. I have one older brother, and three younger sisters.”

“That’s a pretty good sized family. Were you born in the States?”

“Yes, my parents emigrated from Mexico about ten years before I was born. They settled down in a town called Chula Vista which is a part of San Diego County. They made their living by owning and operating a small taco stand. They were very popular with the locals and tourists alike. No one can cook like my mama. Their business did so well that by the time I was born they had expanded into a full-blown restaurant. By the time my second sister was born they had opened two more restaurants and have made quite a name for themselves in the county.”

“Oh, the food must be delicious for them to have such great success.” Helga replied through a mouthful of bread.

Picking up the bottle of wine, Carlos refills her glass once again as he continues with his story. “Oh, yes, I am willing to bet that you have never tasted Mexican food as delicious and authentic as my mama’s. We were a very tight knit family and my parents kept close to their roots, never allowing us to speak English in the house. They kept up all the old traditions and we stayed very closely connected to our relatives back in Mexico. As my brothers and sisters grew, we were put to work in the restaurants. My brother and one of my sisters have each taken on one of the three restaurants to run, thus keeping all three of them in the family. My other sisters and I chose careers of our own. I do like to help out for old time’s sake whenever I go down to visit though. It helps keep me connected to my roots. That and yearly trips down to Mexico to visit family.”

“It sounds like you are all very close.” Helga says, her eyes now taking on a dream like quality as she imagines growing up in a family like Carlos’s. 

“Oh, yes. There is nothing any of us wouldn’t do for each other. How about you? What was your family like?”

“Oh, God, it was nothing like yours. As a matter of fact, you could probably say it was the exact opposite. But that’s all in the past. Really, Carlos, I’d rather not talk about my family right now.”

“Understood.” They look at each other for a moment before Carlos continues on. “What about you and Arnold? I could tell by the way you looked at each other at your first book signing that you two are very much in love.”

She smiles as her thoughts turn to Arnold and she gives a little sigh before she speaks. “Yes, we are very much in love. I can honestly say that I’ve been in love with him since the moment I first laid eyes on him.”

“And he loves and respects you too. It shows in the way he treats you.”

Their eyes meet and her eyebrows crinkle up questioningly. “Hey, Carlos, you ever been in love?”

“Me? Oh yes. Her name is Rosa, and she is the love of my life. We are actually engaged to be married” He takes out his phone and clicking into his photo gallery, he shows Helga a picture of his Rosa. She’s a slender woman with dark hair and smooth, brown skin. She’s standing next to Carlos in the picture, her brown eyes sparkling as he whispers something in her ear.

“Oh, she’s beautiful.” Helga all but whispers as she looks at the two. “How come you’ve never mentioned her before?”

“Because, you and I started out in a business relationship, I didn’t feel it proper to discuss such personal matters with a client.”

Helga suddenly finds herself feeling a bit sad at being thought of as just a client. “A client? Is that how you view me?”

“Well, yes, at first. But after this weekend I think I feel as if we can go beyond that and consider ourselves friends, no?”

A smile starts to warm Helga’s face. “Friends. Yeah, I’d like that. I’d also love to meet Rosa sometime. The four of us should have dinner together some time soon.”

“There’s nothing more I’d like better than to do just that. Rosa will be happy too, I’ve told her all about you and your lovely little family.”

“It’s settled then. I can’t wait to tell Arnold.” All of a sudden it hits Helga that she’s forgotten to call Arnold. Her eyes grow wide as she grabs for her phone. “Arnold! I told him I’d call him right after the book signing. He’s going to be furious. Excuse me, Carlos, I need to take this outside.”

Excusing herself, Helga steps outside to make her call. She sees at least ten missed text messages with a voicemail waiting for her too. Ignoring them for now, she calls Arnold’s cell phone. He picks up on the first ring, not a good sign at all.

“Well,” He says a bit curtly, “It’s about time you decided to get back to me. That must have been some book signing.”

“Oh, Arnold, I’m so sorry. The signing went on forever, we skipped lunch and were so hungry when it was finally over that we went straight to this little Italian restaurant for dinner, and after a couple of glasses of wine we started talking and I just forgot.”

“Wine? So you and Carlos are getting cozy over wine now?”

“What? No, we’re not ‘cozy’. Like I said, we were starving and I guess the wine just hit our empty stomachs making us forget the time.”

“Well, when do you plan on coming home?”

“As soon as I finish my spaghetti. Man, Arnold, you need to get over this jealousy bit. It’s not like you and I’m getting tired of it.”

“I’ve told you, I’M NOT JEALOUS!”

“Well you’ve sure fooled me! Now, stop acting like an ass and I’ll be home soon. Give Phillip a good-night kiss for me and I’ll see you when I see you.”

“Fine, but don’t expect me to wait up. I have work in the morning.”

“Damn. Fine, I’ll see you in the morning then!”

Hanging up, she shoves her phone into her pocket, the mellow buzz from the wine completely gone. Walking back into the restaurant she sits back down in the booth.

Noticing her demeanor, Carlos proceeds with caution. “Is everything alright at home?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. It’s getting late, maybe we should ask for the check.”

“Sure, Helga, whatever you say.”

Xxxxx

By the time Helga’s made it back to the boarding house the lights are off and both Phillip and Arnold are sound asleep. Doing her best to make as little noise as possible, she slides into bed. Unbeknownst to her Arnold was not asleep, instead he has been spending the evening feeling bad for the way he acted with Helga. Once she’s laid down, he rolls over and looks at her. She continues to lay there silently, staring at the ceiling. His voice is small and quiet as he talks.

“Hi, welcome home.”

“Thanks.”

“How’d the book signing go?”

“Fine.”

“And dinner afterwards?”

“Fine.”

“I’m, I’m sorry, Helga.”

“For?”

“Yelling at you.”

“Try again.”

“For jumping to conclusions.”

“Again.”

He lets out a sigh. “For being an ass.”

“Much better. Apology accepted.”

They lay in silence for a bit before its Helga’s turn to talk.

“He has a fiancée you know.”

“Huh? Who does?”

“Carlos, doi. Who’d you think I was talking about?”

“He does?”

“Yes, and they’re very much in love.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. So, now will you lay off the guy?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Now good night.”

After a few more moments of silence Arnold all but whispers.

“Um, Helga?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

There’s a brief moment of silence before she replies, the smallest of smiles plays at her lips.

“I love you, too, Arnoldo.”


	89. Chapter 89

Phillip bounces in his highchair, his face smeared with a mixture of baby cereal and strained peaches. He claps his hands as he sits and waits for his mommy to give him more. She brings the spoon up to his mouth before quickly pulling it away. She is smiling and her voice is high-pitched as she says something, causing herself to laugh. Taking his que from her, Phillip laughs back. His gurgled giggles trilling out of his mouth. She brings the spoon to his lips once again, this time allowing it entry. The soft food sits on his tongue before mixing with his saliva and sliding down his throat. 

He likes this orange stuff much better than the thicker green stuff his daddy tried to get him to eat the night before. He wasn’t happy that night what with having spoonful after spoonful of the nasty green stuff shoved into his mouth. It wasn’t sweet like the purple or orange stuff, and the texture wasn’t quite as smooth. He fussed a lot, his daddy’s growing frustration spurring on his own. Luckily he was able to save himself when he swiped his arm across the tray of his highchair, sending the bowl with the offending concoction clanging to the floor. It took a few minutes of crying and throwing himself against the back of his seat before his daddy unstrapped him, releasing him from his prison. His cries were rewarded with a cuddle in his daddy’s lap and a nice bottle of sweet mommy juice, making him feel pretty darn proud of himself.

He looked up into his daddy’s eyes as he drank. At first they were narrow and cold, but after a few moments and some well-timed coos, the eyes softened and little lines formed at their outer edges, indicating that all was well. As he drank from his bottle he started to become drowsy, his eyes growing heavy until he could not keep them open any longer. When he finally opened them, he found himself staring up at the bright shapes that always hang above him when he’s in his crib. It wasn’t long afterwards that he was where his is now, smiling happily at his mommy.

Hearing footsteps in the distance, he looks up to see his daddy come into the kitchen. The sight of his daddy excites him and he begins bouncing again as he holds his arms out to him. His daddy smiles at him as he walks over to the counter. Picking up a grown-up cup, he pours something dark and steamy into it. Carrying it over to where mommy is, he sits down, giving his mommy a kiss on her cheek. Phillip watches the two as they smile at each other. Their lips moving and making sounds that he recognizes but doesn’t understand. It’s not until he hears the words Phillip and Boy that he knows his daddy is talking to him. He does his best to entice his daddy into picking him up. He smiles a gummy smile and reaches out with peach covered hands but his daddy does not reach for him. Kissing his mommy on her mouth, his daddy gives Phillip a quick kiss on his head before walking away.

Phillip watches his daddy as he leaves through the back door. His bottom lip sticking out as he gives a soft whimper. Turning back to his mommy he looks at her face. Her gentle smile eases him enough that he smiles back. Holding the spoon up once more, his mommy brings it to his mouth. With a cheesy grin, he opens his mouth, accepting her offer of food. His A.W.O.L. daddy forgotten for the time being. 

xxxxx

It’s almost time for the noon bell to ring and Arnold sits uncomfortably in Principal Dunn’s office. He’s been called in to talk about his maybe holding a summer class on career planning. It would be for any student entering their senior year in the fall, as well those graduating out at the end of this current year. It’s not particularly how he wants to spend the first part of his summer break, but it is income, and it would keep him from having to put time in at Bob’s store. The extra money would also help replenish anything he has to put out for the vow renewal. 

He checks his watch, hoping this doesn’t take too much longer because he only has a small window of time to meet with the first baker on his list before getting back to the school for a 1:30 parent meeting. 

“Am I keeping you from something important, Mr. Shortman?” Dunn asks when he notices Arnold checking his watch.

“Huh? Oh, no, not at all. I was just checking the time. So, as you were saying?”

“Yes, as I was saying, I will work alongside of you in acquiring guest speakers to come in and talk to the students about different career choices and what is involved as far as schooling and the likes.”

“Oh, yes, that would be a big help. Yeah, teaching really isn’t my thing, I’m more the advising type, but I think I can handle a four week class. It’s how many days a week again?”

Dunn looks at him, a little annoyed by his inattention. “That would be three days a week, Tuesday through Thursday, for four weeks running from June 12th to the 28th. Each class lasting three hours. You’d be done with your day by noon, just in time to go home and have lunch with that cute little boy of yours.”

“It all sounds fine, I’m pretty sure we don’t have anything planned in June, so, yeah. Count me in. I could use the summer income.”

“Fine, I will get it all set up then. We’ll have to have a few more meetings in the meantime to work out the details of course.”

He’s not too happy about having to work so closely with Dunn, and he does his best to make a quick escape. “That’s fine. Well, if there’s nothing else I guess I’ll get back to work.” 

“Right, have a good rest of the day, Mr. Shortman.”

“Uh, thanks, you too.”

As he leaves he bypasses his office and heads straight for his car. Before he has a chance to start the engine, his phone starts to ring. Checking the caller ID, he sees that it’s Rhonda. Wondering what she wants, he’s quick to answer it.

“Hello, Rhonda, what a nice surprise. How’s everything going with you?”

“Hello, Arnold, everything’s just fine here. I just wanted to let you know that I received the invitation to your vow renewal last night. Olga did a wonderful job with them.”

He’s surprised at the quickness with which Olga worked and is even more surprised to be getting a response back so soon. “Wow. That was quick. So, is everything still okay with you as far as the timing of it all?”

“Oh, yes, everything will work out just fine. And I do have to say, how romantic of you to plan the renewal for mother’s day weekend. What a special way to commemorate Helga’s very first mother’s day.”

Not wanting Rhonda to know it was merely a ‘happy accident’ that the ceremony just happened to end up on mother’s day weekend, he is quick to agree with her. “Yeah, um, I thought so too.”

“Well, I just want to let you know that I will be bringing along my own personal hair and make-up artists, and I have picked out the cutest ever bride’s maid dresses for the wedding party. I will send you a swatch of the material so you can coordinate colors in regards to the grooms men’s ties and cumber buns. You are planning on renting tuxedos aren’t you?”

Arnold had spent so much time worrying over Helga’s dress that he had forgotten all about what everyone else would be wearing. His silence giving this fact away.

“Oh, Arnold, what would you do without me? I’m sure the bridal shop that you got Helga’s dress at will be able to help out with the tuxedos too. If you give me their address I will arrange for the dresses I’ve picked out to be sent to them and they can take care of the alterations. Tell the girls not to worry about price because I’ve decided that my part in helping with all of this will be to pick up the cost of the dresses.”

Arnold is taken aback by Rhonda’s generosity and starts to decline her offer. “What? Oh, I can’t let you do that, Rhonda, that’s way too generous.”

“Don’t worry about it, Arnold, it won’t be as expensive as you’re thinking, for you see, I know this small designer that is trying to break into the business and I will actually be doing them a favor just by me wearing their dress. So the cost is really nothing to worry about. Now, I really must be going. I will be coordinating things with the girls and will get in touch with you as progress is made. YOU just remember to get busy with those tuxedos. Au revoir, Arnold dear.” 

Hanging up, Arnold once again can’t believe how willing everyone has been in helping him with Helga’s surprise. He feels very lucky to have such a wonderful group of friends. 

Heading down Main Street he arrives at the bakery right on time for his appointment. He looks in the store’s window before entering. It’s a busy little shop, the few tables that are scattered about already occupied with happy customers. As he walks through the door he is hit with the wonderful aromas of fresh bread and other sweet treats. Walking up to the counter he gives the girl his name and is told to wait a moment as she goes to the back to get the owner.

He starts to get hungry as he eyes the display case and right before he has a chance to pilfer a sample of coffee cake that sits on a plate on the counter, he is greeted by a man wearing worn jeans and a black t-shirt with the store’s logo on it. He doesn’t strike Arnold as the type of person to run a bakery what with his spiky red hair and multiple piercings, his arms covered in a myriad of tattoos. He shakes Arnold’s hand, introducing himself as Rusty Adams. The name ‘Rusty’ in reference to his naturally red hair. He leads Arnold to a back room that is used for consultations and cake tastings. Motioning for Arnold to sit down, Rusty takes the seat across from him. On the table sits small plates with various flavors of cake on them.

“So, it’s a wedding cake you’re looking for?”

“Uh, well, it’s not actually a wedding, more a renewal of our vows.”

“I see. So, how long have you been married?”

As with Gordon, Arnold proceeds to tell Rusty his and Helga’s story. Starting with preschool and ending with the surprise ceremony. 

“That’s quite a story.” Rusty says as he sits back in his chair eyeing Arnold. “Since your only restriction on cake choices was no strawberries, I’ve pulled a few of our more popular flavors for you to try.”

Arnold looks at the samples, his mouth watering. “They all look really delicious.”

“Oh, believe me, they are. How about we start with one of our shop’s specialties……………..”

Arnold spends the next half an hour tasting sample after sample of cake, each one more delicious than the last. He has no idea how he’s going to choose just one flavor. 

“Wow, those were all so delicious. How am I supposed to choose just one?”

“Well, depending on how many layers the cake is, you can mix it up. You can have a chocolate bottom tier, with the middle being our dulce de leche cake, and the top perhaps lemon or our old-fashioned red velvet cake. Really, it’s whatever you want. So how many people will you be serving?”

“Well, the chapel holds 100 guests which is probably right around where we’ll be if you figure that most people we invite will bring along a guest.”

“Okay, so for 100 people you can have a nice sized cake with plenty of each flavor to satisfy everyone. I will send you home with a list of the flavors you tried today and you can take a day or two to decide. When will you be needing the cake by?”

This is where Arnold is worried that things are going to go wrong. He hesitates to tell Rusty that they’re looking at just about a month and a half until the ceremony.

“Yeah, well, uh, that’s the thing. The ceremony is taking place on May 12th.”

“That gives us a good month and a half. If what you want isn’t too detailed then it shouldn’t be a problem. Do you know how you want it decorated?”

“I have a couple of ideas, but I’m not 100% sure yet. Can I email you some pictures in a day or two?”

“That would be fine.” Rusty gets up, holding his hand out to Arnold. “I will wait to hear from you with your final decision then. I do hope we will be the ones you choose to be a part of your big day.”

Taking Rusty’s hand, Arnold gives it a shake. “Thanks, I’ll be in touch.”

Arnold arrives back to the school just as the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch. He passes Gerald’s classroom and stops in for a quick chat as his students start to arrive. They partake in their childhood handshake much to some of the student’s delight. Gina gives a little sigh as she leans in to whisper to Denise.

“Isn’t that the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?”

Finding that she can’t deny it she must agree. “Yeah, it is. Can you imagine them as kids? I bet they were so cute.”

Gina gives a little giggle. “Oh yeah, I do too. Especially Mr. Shortman with that head of unruly hair and those half lidded eyes. He HAD to have the girls just falling all over him.”

“I don’t know about all the girls, but I do know that Mrs. Shortman sure was in love with him back then.”

Gina is about to ask Denise what she meant by that when the tardy bell rings, forcing her to save the question until later. With a wave of his hand, Arnold exits the classroom, leaving Gerald to start his lesson.

xxxxx

At final bell, Arnold quickly packs up his desk and heads out the door. He sees Travis heading his way and not really wanting to get involved in any lengthy conversations, he quickly ducks out the front door. Briskly walking to his car he gets in and hightails it to the next bake shop.

This one is in the higher rent end of town and when he walks inside he doesn’t get that same welcoming feel like he did at Rusty’s shop. He meets with the proprietor and once again is led to a side room to find a fancy, albeit smaller, array of cake samples. 

The first sample he is given is what you’d consider a traditional, white cake with an Italian buttercream frosting in the middle. Arnold has to admit that for being plain vanilla, it was probably the best cake he’s ever eaten. The cake was dense and moist while the buttercream just melted away on his tongue. Each sample just seemed to get better and better before ending with the Piece De Resistance. It is a sinfully rich, decadently moist Swiss chocolate cake. In the middle is a hazelnut mousse that all but disappears once it hits the tongue. It is covered in a ganache so smooth it has a mirror like quality.

Although full from earlier in the day, Arnold has no trouble at all finishing this last bit of cake, desperately wishing he had more. He lets the last bite sit on his tongue before swirling it around his mouth. His tongue picks up the delicate differences between the sweet of the buttercream and the bitterness of the imported cacao beans from which the ganache is made. 

He feels he has found the perfect cake, until he asks the price. The imported ingredients, combined with the fact that this is a higher end establishment meant to cater to those a bit more well off than Arnold makes the cake well out of his budget. He thinks about the other flavors the shop has to offer and if he was to be perfectly honest with himself he thought that Rusty’s cakes were actually just as good. So he thanks the proprietor for their time and lets himself out of the bake shop.

Driving home he thinks about the two cake shops. He had to admit that he did get a better vibe from Rusty, and his cakes really were just as good as the second shop’s cakes. So making up his mind on the three flavors he wants for the three tiered wedding cake, he chooses to go with Rusty. He makes a note to call him tomorrow with the specifics of how he wants it decorated and checks off another item on his list.

He gets home just a tad bit later than normal, but not enough to cause any suspicion. He finds Helga at the refrigerator as she looks for something to prepare for dinner. Giving her a playful pat on her bottom she turns and gives him a smile.

“Hey, welcome home, I’ve missed you.” She says as she gives him a big hug.

“I’ve missed you, too.” He replies before giving her a deep kiss.

They break the kiss and she gives him a look. “You taste like chocolate, and what’s this?”

Arnold starts to panic as she leans in and licks a small blot of chocolate that was sitting at the corner of his mouth.

“What’s with the frosting? Did someone have a birthday?”

Relieved that she came up with his excuse for him, he just goes along with the premise. “Uh, yeah, someone had a birthday and there was cake in the teacher’s lounge.”

“Oh yeah? Whose birthday was it?”

“Um, I don’t really know, I was in my office all day. By the time I got to the teacher’s lounge the party was over and here was just the leftover cake sitting out so I had some.”

Luckily she believes him and gives him a quiet “Oh, well, that’s nice. Dinner will be ready in about an hour.”

Dodging yet another bullet Arnold kisses her one more time before heading up the stairs, thinking to himself that mid-May can’t come soon enough.


	90. Chapter 90

Brayden rifles through some photographs as he sits at his desk in his little office. It’s located on the 21st floor of your typical Manhattan high-rise, its interior decorations generic and not much to look at. It’s just how he likes it, unassuming and unnoticeable, allowing him to blend in with his surroundings. To the average person walking down the hallway his is just another door among many, the only adornment the nameplate which alerts people to who he is and what he does. The small placard is made of laminated wood, his name embossed in black letters. Brayden L. Thompson, Private Investigations. It’s a job that suits him, and works well with his ability to hide away in the shadows unnoticed. 

The pictures he holds now were taken by him and are of an unfaithful husband as he partakes in a clandestine meeting with his latest mistress. Brayden was hired by the man’s wife in an attempt to gain evidence for when she takes the, as she calls him, “cheating bastard”, to court. His concentration is interrupted when a familiar ding rings out from his computer, notifying him of an incoming message. Placing the photographs on his desk, he clicks into his email. Scanning his inbox he sees an Evite from an Olga Dunsmuir. At first he doesn’t recognize the name, but after a few seconds it clicks that it is Helga’s older sister that has sent him the Evite. 

Curious as to what she could possibly be inviting him to, he clicks into the message. His heart dropping into his stomach as he reads:

Arnold P. Shortman requests the honor of your presence  
At the vow renewal between himself and his wife  
Helga G. Shortman

That’s as far as he gets before turning away from the screen, his clenched fist gripping the computer mouse almost to the point of breakage. 

“I can’t believe the balls on that guy.” He thinks to himself as images of their past come rushing to the forefront of his brain. In his mind it is because of Arnold that he sits, void of the one true love of his life. Destined to live out the rest of his days heartbroken as he pines for that which he will never have on the inside, while on the outside he lives the charade of having moved on. 

He was happy once, happier than he’s ever been, or ever will be. It was during those few short months when he called Helga his. It started the summer she got back from visiting some relatives down in Los Angeles. She had left suddenly, and when she finally returned she had changed. No longer was she the brash, controlling teen that spent her days stomping around Hillwood, obliterating anyone foolish enough to get in her way. Something had happened that week she was away, something influential enough to change her whole demeanor. Sure, she still had her moments, but they were much fewer and more far between. She started spending a lot more time on her own, walking quietly along the streets, or sitting in deep contemplation on a park bench or at the docks as she watched the boats sail to and fro. 

One day he noticed her passing by on her usual route through town and he decided to follow her, always keeping a few paces behind, ducking into doorways when need be. He followed her all the way to the downtown area, and watched as she looked both ways before ducking into one of the medical buildings. After she was safely inside, he walked up to the building and scanned the registry of occupants. The tenants varied, there was a heart clinic, a few podiatrists and the like but the one name that stood out to him belonged to one Dr. Bliss, Child Psychologist. Hers’ is the only name that has anything to do with children, so he assumes that is where Helga has gone. He knew something was up with her, and if it was bad enough for her, of all people, to seek the guidance of a child psychologist then he figures it must be something bad. 

He takes note of the office number, seeing that the good doctor is on the third floor, and walks across the street. He half hides behind a metal mail box, his eyes scanning the third floor windows in hopes of spotting her. He stood there a good 40 minutes when he sees a flash of pink at one of the windows. Ducking further behind the mailbox, he squints his eyes in an effort to focus in. It’s the blonde hair and pink bow that give her away. She gazes out the window for only a few brief seconds before turning away. He’s too far to see the expression on her face but he knows that if whatever it is that’s going on with Helga is enough to send her to Dr. Bliss, then her expression is probably not a happy one.

It saddens him to think of her sad and hurting, and he vows right then and there to do what he can to help her through it. No longer will he be weird Brainy, lurking in the shadows, following her every move. No, it’s time for him to man up to his feelings for her and take a stand. So that is why, the next day at lunch he walks over to where she is sitting alone and plops down his lunch tray. Without saying a word he takes a seat, asking her to pass the napkins. She looks up, the cool blue of her eyes looking past him, and silently hands him a few napkins. He takes a few bites of his pizza before speaking. What comes out of his mouth is nothing profound, no words of wisdom or witty commentaries. All he says to her is a simple, “Uh, hi,” but it’s enough to bring a smile to her lips as she gives him a soft, “hi” in return.

That was the start of the short lived “Helga and Brainy” era. They became inseparable, the term “joined at the hip” thrown about whenever anyone would talk about them. He was patient with her, taking things slow, holding off any advances until he was sure she was open to them. He remembers their first kiss, he had taken her to Hawk Mountain to look at the stars. They had spread a couple of blankets out in the back of his old, dilapidated Chevy truck and were watching the sky. 

It was a Cheshire moon that night, the next best thing to a new moon for star gazing. He commented on it, stating how much it reminded him of the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland. Little did he know, though, that in the far recesses of her mind, to her it looked more like the crooked smile Arnold always wore when he knew she was covering up her true feelings. They laid there, quietly talking when she went off on one of her romantic soliloquies. It was too much for him to handle. Turning to her he reached out, hooking a finger under her chin. Turning her face to his he kissed her. It was soft and tender and their lips lingered for a few blissful moments before he pulled away to look in her eyes. He was worried she was going to reject him, but his fears were for naught. Instead of rejection, she grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him to her. This time the kiss was deep and full of passion. Was she using him to push Arnold out of her mind? He didn’t know, but he wasn’t willing to find out either. Instead he followed her lead. 

That’s as far as it went that night, and every other night following, a few passionate kisses with perhaps a slight pass of their hands on each other’s bodies. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to keep him joyously happy. That is until Arnold started getting into the picture. It took Helga being with someone else for Arnold to finally take notice of her. He was after Helga, even knowing that she was already in a relationship with someone else. But Arnold didn’t care, Brainy could see it in the guy’s eyes when he looked at her. He would go to any lengths to win Helga over. It wasn’t long before she started pulling away from him and spending more of her free time with Arnold. Deep down Brainy knew that Helga’s feelings for the guy never truly subsided, and when she finally came to him, telling him that her feelings had changed, he knew that he had a choice to make. Let her go and still remain friends with her, or hold on tight until any thought of even the slightest friendship was all but destroyed. 

He chose to keep her in his life, even if that meant watching her be in the arms of another. Although he may look as if he’s over her on the outside, well, on the inside? On the inside he hurts everyday over his loss. A loss that he, still to this day, blames Arnold for. 

He sits looking at the Evite as it glares out at him from the computer screen. It was bad enough pretending to be happy on the rooftop of the boarding house when they got married the first time. He doesn’t think he can go through that again. He would love nothing more than to see his fair Helga once more, but not under these circumstances. That is why he is quick to hit the decline button. With that settled he permanently deletes the email from his computer, turning his attention once again to the pictures on his desk.

xxxxx

Arnold takes a moment to glance over his calendar, running through his mind just what was left to do in the short time frame. He was thankful for the invention of electronic invitations and surprised at how fast people were responding. Every day since Olga sent them out he’d get two or three responses from people saying how excited they were to be invited. He decides to take a quick check of his email before leaving for home. That’s when he notices Brayden’s response. Opening it, he is shocked to find that the guy declined his invitation. He knew Brayden had problems with him, but he was sure he’d have put their differences aside for Helga. Knowing how disappointed Helga would be to look out over the congregation and not see his face, Arnold knows he’s going to have to do what he can to talk the guy into agreeing to come. As far as he’s concerned he couldn’t really care less if Brayden showed up or not. Being around him always made him feel a bit uncomfortable. He won’t admit that it’s his guilty conscience picking at him, instead he blames Brayden’s dislike of him for it. 

Grabbing his phone he pulls up Brayden’s contact information and pushes the call button. It starts to ring and he wonders if he’ll even answer. Just when Arnold is about to give up an annoyed voice comes over the other end.

“I was wondering if you’d have the balls to call.”

“Hey Brainy, I just got your response to my invitation.”

“That was quick, will the wonders of modern technology never cease? So if you have my response, what are you calling for?”

“Listen, Brainy……..”

“I prefer to be addressed by my given name now, Arnold. Brainy is reserved for my friends.”

The jab lets Arnold know that this conversation is not going to be an easy one. “I’m sorry, Brayden. I know you and I don’t get along, but that’s not on me. You’re the one that can’t let go of the past. But, anyway, that’s not why I called.”

“Well then just why did you call me? Was my response not clear enough for you?”

“Oh it was clear alright, loud and clear. But it was also wrong. You know how much it would mean to Helga to have you there. Think of how heartbroken she’ll be if you don’t show up. You’re one of her dearest friends.”

Hearing the word “friend” used to describe his relationship with Helga cuts right through Brayden causing him to wince, but it also angers him.

“And why would I want to go clear across the country to watch the woman that was STOLEN from me pledge her undying love and faithfulness to the person that took her away from me?”

There it is Arnold thinks to himself. The twist to the knife he feels deep in his conscience every time he has anything to do with Brayden. Rubbing his forehead with his hand, he gathers himself, fighting hard to control his voice. “Look, Brayden, can’t you put your pride aside for one night and just do this for Helga? You know it would mean the world to her.”

“You’re always playing the Helga card when it comes to easing your conscience, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh yes you do, Arnold. You know exactly what I mean. You know what you did all those years ago was underhanded. You were a dick to play with Helga’s emotions like that just to satisfy your own selfish needs. She and I were perfectly fine together before you came between us.”

Arnold is furious now and no longer in control of his tongue. “Helga never really loved you and you know it. You can tell yourself all you want that what the two of you shared was real, but you know the truth. She was sad and lonely and reaching out for comfort and you just happened to be the closest thing at the time.”

Arnold crossed a line and now it is Brayden’s turn to let loose. “SHE WAS SAD AND LONELY BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU SORRY SACK OF SHIT!!”

“You know I regret how things were between her and me when we were younger, but it took time for me to realize my feelings for her, to realize that she was right. That she and I were meant to be together. Look, I’m tired of fighting over this every damn time we talk. It never gets us anywhere. I’m resigned to the fact that you and I will probably never really have any sort of friendship, but for Pete’s sake, can’t you just put your feelings aside one more time and do this for Helga? Please?”

There’s a moment of silence on the line as both men process what was just said. Finally it’s Brayden who speaks up.

“I’ll think about it.” Is all Brayden says before he hangs up the phone, leaving Arnold to sit at his desk listening to the empty dial tone, feeling as if he’s just, singlehandedly, fought a war that he didn’t necessarily win. 

He’s not sure how long he had been sitting there when the last bell of the day rings, forcing him out of his stupor. A lot of what Brayden had said had hit home. He wasn’t proud of how he handled things back when they were kids but he also couldn’t deny that he would do it all over again if need be. 

Packing up his stuff he exits his office, stopping by Gerald’s classroom before leaving for home. He walks in and takes a seat at Gerald’s desk while his friend attends to some lingering students. When the last kid has left, Gerald turns to him with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Mmm-mm-mm, Arnold my man. You look as if you’ve just been run over by a truck.”

Arnold rubs his face with both hands before leaning back in the chair, throwing his head back and looking at the ceiling.

“I just got off the phone with Brainy.”

“Now what’re you doing talking to him for?”

“I invited him to the vow renewal.”

“Say what? You invited your wife’s ex-boyfriend to your vow renewal and then you call him to rub it in? That’s a bold move, Arnold, even for you.”

Arnold turns his gaze to Gerald now. “Of course I wasn’t trying to rub anything in! I called him because he declined the invitation even though he knows how much it would mean to Helga for him to be there.”

Gerald studies his friend for a moment. “Are you sure you did this for Helga?”

Arnold looks at Gerald questioningly. “What do you mean, of course I did it for Helga.”

“Mmm-hmm, or did you do this for YOU, in another attempt to ease your guilty conscience?”

“Gerald, I don’t have a guilty conscience.”

“If you say so my man. So, I take it Brainy wasn’t very receptive to your call.”

“No, not at all.”

“So you weren’t able to talk him into coming to the renewal ceremony?” 

“I don’t know, he said he’d think about it.”

“Well, you look like you could use a drink before facing Helga. If you go home looking like that she’ll know something’s up.”

“Yeah, and she’ll also know something’s up for me to stop off for a drink in the middle of the afternoon for no reason too. Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll pass.”

“Whatever you say Arnold, but if I were you I’d wipe that ‘woe is me’ expression off your face before you go home.”

“Yeah, I will. Thanks for listening, Gerald.”

“Anytime my brutha, anytime.”

xxxxx

Later that night Arnold sits on the family room couch, a sleepy Phillip barely able to keep his eyes open as he leans against his father’s chest. Helga enters the room, fresh from having just showered. She sees her sleepy son and gives a soft smile.

“Someone looks like he’s ready for the sandman. Here, let me take him upstairs and I’ll nurse him to sleep.”

Reaching down, she takes her son into her arms. Arnold listens as she sings him a soft goodnight tune as she walks.

“The Man in the Moon, looked out of the moon,  
Looked out of the moon and said,  
Tis time for all children on the earth,  
To think about getting to bed……”

He smiles as her voice grows dim and he thinks about what his life would be like now without her in it. He’s convinced that, though the way he went about doing things was wrong, he did what he had to, because he knows for a fact, that there is no way in Hell, he could ever live his life without her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you’re confused by Arnold’s attitude in regards to his conversation with Brainy please refer back to chapter 63 I believe it is, where it explains a bit of their history in regards to the two of them and Helga. I’m not sure if people will find Arnold out of character in this chapter, but I am reminded of when Arnold had his crush on Lila. He knew she and Arnie were a thing yet he still, with the help of Helga, tried to make her jealous and turn her affections to him. Yes, Arnie ended up liking Helga, but Arnold didn’t know that at the time. He knows now that it was wrong, and he does harbor guilt over the loss of a friend, but he did what he felt he had to do at the time. Just food for thought.


	91. Chapter 91

It’s later than Tonya had planned on staying up, but she has a paper due in her English class on Friday and she had stupidly put it off till the last minute. With this already being Wednesday, very late on Wednesday to be exact, she only has tomorrow left to work on it and wonders just how in the hell she’s going to get it done. She’s taking a break as she lies on her bed in her darkened room and faces up to the ceiling. The only light comes from her computer screen and the small table lamp that sits beside it. Scattered about the desktop are notes and reference books, along with a small, empty bottle of the 5 Hour Energy drink she had sucked down in an effort to stay awake longer. She really wished she had taken the time to write out an outline first before starting the paper, but because she had waited so long to start it, she had run out of time and had to just do her best to piece together a paper using her notes and the required 5 reference books that were to be used in lieu of just relying on the internet. 

She’s about to doze off when she hears her computer give a quiet ding. Turing her head in its direction she wonders who’d be sending her an email at such a late hour. She contemplates ignoring it but she has a nagging suspicion that she knows who it’s from, so she gets up and walks back over to her desk. Sitting down, she clicks into her email.

Having just cleared out her inbox, the new message is the only one there. She looks at the sender’s name and isn’t surprised to find the name “Anonymous” staring back at her. Hovering her mouse over the message, she gives it a click. Upon opening, her ears are hit with the sound of soft music and the screen fills with images of flowers and hearts. The pattern changes constantly as words start to slowly fade onto the screen. The letters are fuzzy at first, but then slowly come into focus. A warm smile comes to her lips as she reads a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning…..

 

I see thine image through my tears to-night,  
And yet to-day I saw thee smiling.   
How Refer the cause?  
Beloved, is it thou Or I, who makes me sad?   
The acolyte amid the chanted joy and thankful rite  
May so fall flat, with pale insensate brow on the altar-stair.  
I hear thy voice and vow, perplexed, uncertain,  
since thou art out of sight,  
As he, in his swooning ears, the choir's Amen.  
Beloved, dost thou love? Or did I see all the glory as I dreamed,   
and fainted when too vehement light dilated my ideal,  
For my soul's eyes?   
Will that light come again,  
as now these tears come--falling hot and real?

Her heart gives a small skip as reads the words he’s sent her, and she wonders if Charles really means them, or is he just trying to prove a point. After all, she did accuse him of being unromantic, and he did say she didn’t know what she was talking about. She looks at the time that sits displayed at the bottom right corner of her computer and heaves a sigh. It’s too late for her to be sitting there trying to figure Charles out, and even later to coherently work on a paper for English class. So after reading the poem one last time, she turns off her computer and heads back to her bed. As she drifts off to sleep the words to the poem run through her head and she falls asleep with just the faintest hint of a smile on her lips.

xxxxx

The next morning Tonya arrives at school a little earlier than normal in hopes to “accidentally” run into Charles. Knowing his fondness of the little breakfast buns the school sells every morning in the cafeteria, she is aware of his daily habit of buying one each morning and eating it on his way to the computer lab, where he and his buddies kill time before the start of class. She waits half hidden by a vending machine as she watches the door. She is not disappointed when she sees him enter the room, making a beeline for the food line. Hurrying, she walks up behind him, catching him off guard. He gives a little jump when she speaks.

“So, getting your usual pastry fix, or are you in the market for something a little more substantial this morning?”

He has a look of stiff surprise on his face when he first turns around, but seeing who it is that is talking, he loosens up. It amuses him that she knows of his little pastry addiction and he gives her a little smirk and a wink as he talks. “Oh, hey Tonya. I didn’t hear you walk up. Yeah, you know how I love me some sweet goodness in the morning.”

By the tone of his voice, she’s not sure if he’s talking about the breakfast bun or something else, so she gives him a raise of an eyebrow. “Sweet goodness, huh? Leave it to you to make pastry sound dirty.”

“Hey, you’re the one who’s got their mind in the gutter if you saw anything dirty in what I said.”

She gives him a haughty little raise of her nose as she turns to look at the breakfast choices that’s laid out before them. Grabbing the last of the buns, she throws his smirk right back at him as she heads for the cash register.

“Hey! You took the last bun!” Charles yells at her as she passes him by.

She takes the pastry to a table and sits down feigning nonchalance, but actually hoping he follows. Sure enough, he joins her, a small pout sitting on his lips. She notices that he’s chosen a cheese Danish in lieu of the pilfered breakfast bun, and she wonders if he chose that on purpose, knowing that that just happens to be HER favorite breakfast pastry. 

They sit across from each other, each one eying the other’s breakfast. They turn their gaze to each other and with a smile they switch plates. They take a moment to start eating, then, with his mouth full of breakfast bun, Charles breaks the ice.

“So, I haven’t seen you following your jock boyfriend around lately. Has that ship sailed?”

Tonya gives a little huff. “I’ve told you, he’s not my boyfriend, and, no, that ship hasn’t necessarily sailed. Yet.”

Charles shakes his head as he takes another bite of food.

“Don’t do that.” Tonya says, a bit riled.

“Do what?”

“You know what, shake your head as if you’re talking to some child.”

Charles rolls his eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were so sensitive on the subject.”

She decides she wants to get a rise out of Charles for his remark about Blake, so she does her best to bait him.

“Whatever, but, speaking of Blake, I’ve been thinking about the balloons that were left in my locker, and I think it’s been him that’s been sending me love poems. It’s actually very romantic.”

Charles about chokes on his pastry. “Whaaat? How can you think its Blake of ALL people!!”

“What? You don’t think he has it in him to be romantic like that?”

“Not only do I think he’s not capable of being romantic like that, I also don’t think he has the know how to do it.”

“The know how to do what? Copy a poem down and stick it in a locker?”

“No, to………… Oh, never mind, I’m out of here.” Picking up his tray, Charles makes a hasty exit out of the cafeteria. 

Tonya watches his back as he storms off, a sly smile on her lips. She thinks to herself, “Just what was it that almost slipped out of your mouth Charles old boy?”

Finishing her Danish, she texts Denise, asking her friend to meet her at her locker. She’s anxious to get Denise’s opinion on the conversation between her and Charles.

xxxxx

It’s been another long day for Arnold as he spent it doing his best to keep his attention on work. There was still a lot of loose ends to tie up in a short amount of time and he couldn’t help but think that somehow time had managed to find a way to speed up. Responses have been coming back daily and he’s almost heard from everyone on the list. It was going to be a full house and he’s starting to worry about the food cost. With nearly 100 guests needing to be fed as well as the wedding party itself, he’s hoping that Olga really is able to get as good a deal as she keeps promising him. He’s also forgotten about ordering flowers for the big day and hopes Mrs. Vitello will be able to cut him a deal and squeeze him into her busy schedule. When the last bell finally rings he quickly leaves his office, making a quick stop at his mailbox before leaving. 

As he enters the little back room to get his mail, he runs into Travis and gives him a warm smile. After the whole Amanda debacle Travis had grown very quiet, losing some of that easygoing attitude that he always walked around with. It was hard for Arnold to see him that way and he tried reaching out to him a couple of times but Travis always would say that he was fine and for Arnold not to worry about him. 

It took a while, but slowly Travis was able to pull himself out of the slump he had fallen into, eventually getting back into the swing of things. He returns Arnold’s smile now, and offers him a hearty handshake.

“Arnold! So good to see you. How’s it been going? I got your invitation, I can’t wait for the big day.”

“Yeah, I saw your Evite response the other day. I’m glad you’re going to be able to make it, it’ll make Helga happy to see you there.”

“Oh I wouldn’t miss an event like this. I have to say Arnold old boy, I thought I was a hopeless romantic. What you’re doing takes the cake. You’re setting a high standard for the rest of us guys to live up to.”

Arnold gives a little chuckle as he rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, when it comes to Helga I guess I just can’t help myself. So, I noticed on the Evite that you responded for two. Is there a new special someone in your life now? Anyone we know perhaps?”

Travis gives a little blush as he speaks through a wide grin. “Aww, well, she is kind of special, but it’s nothing very serious. Not yet at least. I’ve learned my lesson and I’m taking things really slow this time. But you do know her. It’s Jesse, you know, the activities director at the Boys and Girls Club. She comes in sometimes to sub when one of the girls gym teachers are out sick.”

Arnold thinks for a second before he realizes who Travis is talking about. “Oh, yeah, tall blonde, always walks around with a big smile.”

“Yeah, that’s her!” Travis’ face practically beams as he thinks about her.

It makes Arnold happy that Travis has found someone to help him get over what Amanda did to him. He’s also glad that Travis learned his lesson and is taking it slow. In a hurry to stop by the flower shop on his way home, Arnold makes a hasty exit.

“I’m glad the two of you will be at the vow renewal, I’ll look forward to seeing you there. Well, I gotta run, it was good talking to you.”

After the two men have said their good-byes, Arnold hightails it off the school grounds and heads out to see Mrs. Vitello. As he drives, he gives Rusty a call to make sure things are still a go with the cake. Rusty picks up on the first ring, as if he was sitting, waiting for Arnold’s call.

“Hey, Rusty, this is Arnold Shortman. I was just wondering if you got my email in regards to the cake for my wedding vow renewal.”

“Oh, yeah, Arnold. I did get the email and everything looks in order. I’ve sketched out a design for the cake and have emailed it to you. Once you approve it we can get to work on it. There should be no problem at all with having it ready on time. We will just need access to the reception area an hour before the ceremony to deliver and set up the cake.”

“The caterer will also be there early to set up so I don’t see there being any problems. They will have a cake table set up when you get there.”

“Excellent. Well, get that email back to me and we’ll see you on the 12th.”

Arnold hangs up, happy to check off another item on his quickly diminishing list. When he reaches the flower shop he pulls around to the back of the building in an effort to hide the Packard, just in case Helga should happen to choose that time to take Phillip out for a walk. Making sure she’s nowhere to be seen, he ducks into the store. Hearing the front door bell ring, Mrs. Vitello walks out to the sales floor to greet Arnold.

“Arnold, how nice to see you. I assume you’re looking to buy some flowers for a certain ceremony you’re throwing?”

“Uh, yeah, I am. I do hope I’ve not waited too long and that you can fit me into your schedule.”

“Well, I was figuring you’d be stopping by, so when I found out the date of the ceremony, I cleared my schedule for that day. So I’m perfectly able to get you whatever you need. So, have you given any thought to what you’ll be needing?”

“Well, um flowers.”

“I know that, Arnold, but I need to know things like the type of flowers you want for the ends of the pews, and what kind of flowers for Helga’s bouquet, and the bridesmaid’s bouquets. Also how many. Do you know how many bridesmaids there will be?”

“Oh, uh, I didn’t think about that. Well, let’s see, there’s Rhonda, and Lila, and Nadine will be there, and Phoebe is the maid of honor so count her in too. So I guess that’s four all together.”

“Fine. Now for the boutonnieres.”

“The what?”

“The boutonnieres, the guy’s flower that they wear on the lapel of their jacket.”

“Ohhh, yeah, right. I knew that. Um, well, let’s see. There will be Gerald, and Sid and Stinky and Harold.”

“Okay. Do you know how many pews there are that will need decorating?”

“Um, no. I, uh, guess I’ll have to check and get back to you.”

“Okay, but don’t wait too long. I need to know how many flowers to order. What about alter flowers and centerpieces? There’s also the cake table. You’re going to want that decorated as well.”

“Wow, there’s so much to think about. I didn’t realize. I will have to get back to you on all that too. But, I do know what type of flowers I want. I want pink roses. They’re Helga’s favorite.”

“Ah, Helga and her pink. I’m very well aware of her favorite color.” Mrs. Vitello gives a chuckle as she thinks of the girl and her passion for pink. “Don’t worry, Arnold, I will have everything done in lovely shades of pink and white. It will be beautiful.”

“Gee, thanks Mrs. Vitello. Now as for price. Unfortunately I can’t go too extravagant due to the budget I’m working with.”

“Don’t worry, Arnold. You just pay what you can and you can think of the rest as my gift to you and Helga.”

“Oh, that’s very generous, but I can’t………….”

“Sure you can. Arnold, I’ve known you two all your lives and you’. You’ve always been one to do whatever you could to help out your friends and the community. Let me do this for you. Now, no more said. You just get back to me as soon as you can with a pew count so I can get the flowers ordered.”

Arnold is once again amazed at how generous everyone is being and thanks his lucky stars for having grown up in a town like Hillwood. Shaking Mrs. Vitello’s hand, he says his good-byes and leaves the small shop.

xxxxx

Later that evening Helga sits in the family room with Phillip laying stretched out on her chest. He had finished with his night time nursing and Helga was stealing a few moments of cuddle time before taking him upstairs to his crib. After having finished the dinner dishes, Arnold joins his wife on the couch. He takes out his cell phone to snap a picture of Helga and Phillip in an effort to capture the peaceful look on Phillip’s face. After the two proud parents spend the appropriate amount of time oooing and ahhing over his picture, Arnold places the phone screen side up between them on the couch and they talk about the events of the day.

“So I got a call from that dress shop where Phoebe did her dress shopping.”

“Oh? What did they want?”

“Well, apparently Princess Rhonda has picked out the dresses she wants us to wear alongside her at Sid’s photo shoot. She’s taken everyone’s measurements and is having the shop alter the dresses. I’m supposed to pick them up on my way to the shoot since I’m the closest.”

Arnold knows that this is just all a ruse to get the dresses to the shoot, and he’s thankful that the shop is willing to take time out of their day to play along. Doing his part to keep up the charade, he acts surprised.

“Oh really? Wow, she’s really going all out to help Sid.”

“Yeah, well she said that I am supposed to get the dresses then bring them with me to the shoot and we’ll all get dressed there. She’s bringing along some hoity toity hair and make-up people too. Nothing but the best for our Miss Rondaloid, right?”

“Ha, ha, yeah. Nothing but first class all the way with her.”

As if Rhonda’s ears had been burning she’s picked that exact time to call Arnold. His phone is still sitting between them when it goes off. Helga looks down and sees Rhonda’s name pop up on the caller ID. She gives the phone a puzzled look.

“That’s odd, why is Rhonda calling at this hour, and why is she calling YOUR phone?”

The unexpectedness of her call leaves Arnold off guard for a moment. It takes him a second to think of an excuse.

“Oh, uh, who knows with Rhonda? Maybe she thought she was dialing you or Sid. Think of the time difference, it’s three hours later where she is, she’s probably over tired and isn’t paying attention to what she’s doing. I’ll – uh – answer this upstairs, we don’t want the call disturbing Phillip now, do we?”

Helga narrows her eyes at Arnold, his odd behavior has becoming more and more frequent over the past few weeks and it’s starting to wear on her nerves. Before she can say anything he’s grabbed his phone and is headed upstairs. She can hear his voice as he walks away.

“Hey, Rhonda, what a surprise to hear from you………………….”

Helga has no clue yet as to what could be up with Arnold, but her suspicions are growing stronger. She thinks it may be time to give Phoebe a call and see if she can get Gerald to spill the beans. Taking Phillip up to his room, she makes a mental note to call her best friend first thing in the morning.


	92. Chapter 92

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not write, nor do I have any connection to the song Goodnight My Love, but Helga likes to sing it to Phillip so I had to add it in, and, yes, as you can probably tell, Helga is not one for the traditional Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star type of lullaby. She has her own style. Oh, and if you’re wondering whose version she prefers, believe it or not, it’s Harry Connick Jr’s. Yeah, Arnold may be rubbing off on her just a little bit. :D As always, please enjoy………………

Phillip sits up unaided on a blanket that Helga has laid out on the kitchen floor. He happily plays with a few saucepan lids as Helga plates up some scrambled eggs and bacon for Arnold’s breakfast. He gurgles and coos, every once in a while mouthing lone syllables that he’s heard come from his mother and father, with a content trill thrown in for good measure. Helga watches him out of the corner of her eye, always making sure he’s not gotten himself close to any possibility of hurting himself. She talks to him as she cooks, always keeping up a flow of conversation for his little ears to listen to. 

Putting the finishing touches on his necktie as he walks, Arnold enters the kitchen, being careful not to trip over his son. He gives Phillip a cheery hello and the boy looks up at him with a drool filled smile in return, before going back to his lids. Arnold pours himself a mug of steaming coffee and takes it to the table where he is quick to add a healthy bit of milk and sugar. Helga shakes her head at him as she joins him, placing a plate of food in front of him. Placing her own down, she reaches for the shaker that sits on the table, lightly peppering her eggs.

“You really should cut back on the milk and sugar in your coffee you know.”

Arnold shoves a forkful of eggs into his mouth before speaking. “You know I can’t drink my coffee black.” He gives a grimace on the word “black”.

“I didn’t say you had to drink it black, I was just saying that perhaps you don’t need all the extra calories.”

“You saying I’m fat?”

“No! Of course not. I’m just concerned about your health is all.”

“Eh, at my last physical I was declared healthy as a horse. Remember, I’ve got my grandfather’s genes in me. I’ll probably live to be at least 105, just like him.”

“Yeah, well, he’s not 105 YET.”

“Oh he’ll get there, don’t you worry about that. Besides, I wouldn’t talk Miss ‘Bacon Is My Life’.”

“Okay, okay, point taken. So, you never told me what old Rhondaloid wanted last night.”

Arnold makes a small shift in his seat that doesn’t go unnoticed by Helga. She studies him as he gives his answer. “Oh, uh, it was like we thought, she was trying to get a hold of Sid and dialed me by mistake.”

“Well you two were on the phone together for an awfully long time considering that it was a wrong number.”

“Eh, you know Rhonda, any chance she gets for a listening ear she’ll take it.”

“What did you talk about for so long?”

Arnold shoves the last bit of egg in his mouth as he gets up. “Um, we talked about Rhonda, of course. What else would she have to talk about? Now, enough with the questions, I need to get to work. Thanks for the breakfast.”

He gives her a kiss on the top of her head as he rushes out the back door. Helga slowly sips her coffee wondering what that was all about. Checking the time, she sees that she’s got a good half an hour before Phoebe will be rushing off to class so she decides to give her a call. Her friend picks up after the third ring, sounding her usual chipper self.

“Ohayogozaimasu, Helga.”

“Uh, yeah, good morning to you, too, Pheebs. How ya doing this morning?”

“Why I’m rather well, thank you. How about yourself?”

“Oh, I’m just peachy.”

“So to what do I owe the pleasure of your phone call so early in the morning? Nothing’s wrong, I hope.”

“Oh, no, everything’s fine here. I was just wondering if you could perhaps do me a little favor.”

“Why, sure, Helga. I’d be glad to do whatever I can. What do you need?”

“Well, Arnold’s been acting really strange around here the last week or so and I was wondering if you could maybe work on that fiancée of yours to see if you can get any information out of him”

Phoebe was afraid something like this would happen, and she mentally chastises Arnold for being so bad at secret keeping. 

“Um, just how so has Arnold been acting strange?”

“Well, it’s hard to put a finger on, that’s why I’m having so much trouble figuring him out. He just seems very evasive lately when I question him. Like he’s covering up for something. The other day I came home from a book signing and noticed grass between Phillip’s fingers. When I asked him about it I expected him to say they were at the park or something but instead he gets all flustered and mentions something about them doing ‘Man Things’ and that I wouldn’t understand. It was really weird, even for him.”

“Uh, huh, I see. Well, yes, I have to agree that that was pretty strange. But what makes you think Gerald knows anything?”

“Because the two spent the day together. He was with Arnold all day.”

“Oh, I see. Yes, well, I’m sure Gerald wouldn’t be able to tell me anything but I’ll be sure to ask him anyway. Um, I hate to cut this short, Helga, but I forgot that I was meaning to get to class early this morning to go over an assignment with my teacher. I’ll have to call you back another time.”

“Oh, um, okay, Pheebs. I guess I’ll talk to you later.”

Phoebe says a quick good-bye, hanging up before the last word even leaves her mouth, leaving Helga even more suspicious than she was before. “Something’s not right here in Hillwood.” She thinks to herself but before she can ponder the situation any further, she hears a loud wail coming from the floor. Leaning over just a little too far in an effort to grab a pot lid, Phillip had toppled over, his head hitting the linoleum floor with a thud.

“Oh, Philly!” Helga says as she gets up to rescue her screaming child.

Holding her son close to her chest, she gently bounces him as she rubs his sore head. By the time the boy has calmed down she’s put the phone call to Phoebe out of her mind. 

xxxxx

It’s the last few minutes of the day and Arnold sits listening to Olga as she goes on and on about all the planning she’s been doing. He’s only been half listening for the last twenty minutes, his mind going numb by the ‘white noise’ that was emanating from the other end of the phone. Not that Olga was boring, oh, no, not at all. It was just the fact that she does tend to drone on incessantly. It’s only when she mentions the price of the meals that he’s pulled back to Earth.

“Whoa, wait a minute, how much did you say each meal costs?”

“Like I said, the caterer is giving us a very good price seeing as how Samuel and I are such important clients.”

“Right, good clients, but can you run the price by me one more time, I want to make sure I heard you right.”

“Certainly Arnold, the whole dinner, which includes, an assortment of appetizers, an entrée, side dish, salad, bread and non-alcoholic drinks, brings it to a mere $25 a plate. This even includes a very nice sorbet at the end of the meal.”

Arnold about chokes on his spit at the price. “TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS A PLATE! Why, with a hundred guest, not counting the wedding party, that’s over $2,500 in food!”

“Why, yes, Arnold dear.”

“And that’s WITH the discount?”

“Yes, and you won’t find better food anywhere, these guys are the best of the best.”

“But – that’s way more than I’ve budgeted for food.”

“Oh, Samuel and I have figured that’d be the case, so that’s why we want to split the cost with you as well as to provide a couple of cases of champagne for the wedding toast. We want to do this as our little gift to you and Helga.”

“Oh, no, Olga. Your family has already given us so much. I can’t take anymore from you.”

“Nonsense, Arnold. That money was from my parents, not from Samuel and me. We want to do our own bit to help out.”

“But Olga, that’s way too generous. That’s over $1,200. That’s way too muh……………..”

“Oh, Arnold, it’s nowhere near what we owe you guys for everything you’ve done for us. You may not realize this, but you and Helga are a big reason our family is getting along so well now. You can’t put a price on that.”

“Well, I ….”

“No, not another word. We’re doing this and you can’t stop us. So like I was saying, the caterer will bring all the tables and chairs, the tableware, a table for the cake, and all food and drink. If you want a no host bar they can provide that too. There will also be waiters to take care of the serving so all you have to worry about is enjoying the reception with your friends and family. Now, I wish I could continue chatting with you, but I really must be off. I will see you on the 12th. Good bye brother-in-law.”

He sits there staring at his phone, unable to comprehend what he’s just heard. Again he marvels at just how willing everyone has been to help him pull this off. As he slowly starts to clear off his desk he is startled as his office door swings open.

Arnold just about jumps out of his skin as he’s greeted by his best friend. “Whoa, take it easy there Arnold. It’s just me, Gerald.”

“Geeze, Gerald, you startled me. What are you doing here? Don’t you have class?”

“Uh, school ended five minutes ago. Didn’t you hear the bell?”

“No, I guess I didn’t. I was on the phone with Olga.”

“Oh, well that explains that. And speaking of phone calls, I just happened to get a phone call from Phoebe today.”

“Oh, yeah? How’s she doing?”

“She’s good, but she gave me an interesting bit of information.”

“About?”

“About, you.”

“Me? What about me?”

“Well, it seems YOUR wife, called MY fiancée, asking if she knew what was going on with YOU. 

Arnold’s eyes grow wide. “What?”

“Mmm-hmm. It seems someone has been letting things get to him, and has been acting strange around his wife. Strange enough to pique her suspicions. What’s wrong with you, Arnold? If you’re not careful you’re gonna blow your whole plan out of the water.”

“Oh, man, I can’t help it, Gerald. When Helga turns those steely blue eyes on me I feel like I’m on trial or something. I get all nervous. I swear, it’s like she’s trying to read my mind. I can almost feel her snooping around my brain.”

“Well, all I can say is that you’d better get your act together if you want to keep this a surprise.”

“I know, I’ll try harder to step up my game and not let her get to me. So what did you tell Phoebe to say?”

“I just told her to tell Helga that I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary with you and that I had no clue what Helga is talking about.”

“Okay, well, let’s hope that satisfies her.”

“Knowing Helga, I don’t think she’ll be satisfied until she’s got you down on your knees confessing your guts out.”

Arnold brings a hand to the back of his neck, giving it a rub. “Yeah, Gerald, me too.”

xxxxx

Later that night Arnold lays in bed too worked up to sleep. He keeps running over the list of things that need to get done in his mind. Plus now he has the extra worry of being extra cautious in front of Helga. He wonders if he’s ever going to be able to get any sleep tonight when Helga’s voice comes drifting into their bedroom from across the hall. 

She’s putting Phillip down for the night, and sits in the nursery as she sings him to sleep. Her voice is light and melodic as it hits his ears. He lays quietly and listens to her song.

 

“Goodnight, my love  
Pleasant dreams and sleep tight, my love  
May tomorrow be sunny and bright  
And bring you closer to me….”

Her song not only works its calming magic on their son, but also on Arnold as his breathing starts to become deep and even.

“If you should awake in the still of the night  
Please have no fear  
Just close your eyes  
Then you’ll realize  
That my love will watch o-ver youuuu, dear - always”

 

His mind becomes emptied of all worry as he’s lulled along with Phillip. The soothing tone of her voice sweeping him up as he finally drifts off, letting her words guide him into a peaceful slumber.

“Before you goooo, please remember  
I neeeed you soooo  
And this love I have for you  
Will never, grow cold…..”

Once Phillip has fallen asleep she walks into their bedroom to find that her husband is also soundly sleeping, the tiniest of smiles sits at the corner of his lips. Turning out the light she climbs into bed and places a gentle kiss on his temple.

“Goodnight, my love.” She says before turning onto her side to find her own route into dreamland.


	93. Chapter 93

Phillip lays on his back on his changing table, twisting his body this way and that as Helga tries her hardest to dress him. He is not in the mood to be wearing restrictive clothing, his wails doing an excellent job of conveying the message to his mother. Unfortunately for Phillip, if his mother is anything it’s determined so she continues on with her mission despite his objections.

Helga peers down at her son as she slips his right leg into his tiny corduroy pants. “Come on now Phillip, don’t you want to look nice for Patty’s baby shower?” 

Phillip answers her by looking her straight in the eye and, with his own green eyes narrowed and shooting daggers at her, lets out a loud wail. 

Hearing the commotion Arnold comes into the nursery covering his ears with his hands.

“What’s with all the commotion? It sounds like you’re torturing the poor guy.”

“Heh, all I’m trying to do is put a pair of pants on him.” Having finally gotten both his legs into his pants, Helga sits her child up. “There, criminy. Now hold still while I put your shirt on.”

At the mere touch of his shirt on the top of his head Phillip starts in again with the screaming, this time using his hands to try and push the offending piece of clothing as far away from him as he can.”

Helga’s patience is starting to wear thin. “You are not going to the shower in just a diaper young man so just let me get this blasted shirt on you.”

Arnold stands back, chuckling as he watches the two, frustrating Helga even more. 

“And just what do YOU find so funny?”

“I’m sorry, Helga, it’s just that watching the two of you is like watching the Tasmanian Devil going up against a bull in a china shop. Neither of you will be happy until you get your own way.”

“Hmmf, well, like I said, he is NOT going to Patty’s shower in just a diaper.”

“Well, you can compromise you know. He’s got some really cute onesies, and you know he does fine in those.”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s going to a party and I want him dressed properly.”

“Aw, Helga, he’s a six month old baby. A onesie is a proper outfit.”

“When I want your opinion on how I should dress my son for a party, Arnoldo, I will ask you for it. Now if you don’t mind can you please pick up the shoe your son just kicked off his foot and hand it to me so I can put it back on him?”

Knowing when he’s come up against a brick wall, Arnold just shakes his head and hands her the shoe. “Whatever you say, Helga, but you’re only making more work for yourself than is necessary. I’ll bet you $100 that he ends up coming home in a onesie.”

Picking her whimpering child up she starts to leave the room. “Heh, I don’t take sucker bets, I’d feel bad taking the $100 from you.”

Watching her disappear through the doorway he just shakes his head. “Whatever you say, Helga. Whatever you say.”

xxxxx

Once Helga has left the boarding house Arnold sends a text message to his groomsmen letting them know that he is on his way to the bridal shop. He had made arrangements for all the guys to get together for their tux fittings while all the women are busy with Patty’s shower. He’s happy with the way things worked out and is glad that he doesn’t have to come up with some kind of an excuse as to his whereabouts. 

He makes a quick stop to pick Gerald up then the two guys head off to the shop together. Gerald fiddles with the Packard’s radio as if like magic it would play something other than MJZZ.

“Man, Arnold, I can’t believe you’ve never gotten this radio fixed. All these years and it’s still stuck on the same station.”

“Hey, that’s part of the car’s character. Besides, you know I love jazz, so why would I change it?”

“Um, maybe to finally come up with the times? I swear, sometimes I think you’re actually an old man trapped in a 25 year old’s body.”

Arnold gives his friend a chuckle. “What can I say, I’m just an old soul. At least that’s what people are always telling me.”

“So, has Helga finally let up on trying to figure out what you’re up to?”

“I think so, at least she hasn’t looked at me funny in a while.”

“Well that’s good. Only a few more weeks then you won’t have to worry anymore.”

“Yeah, I’m telling you, I must have aged at least ten years worrying over keeping this a secret.”

They finally pull into the parking lot of the bridal shop. Arnold spots Sid’s SUV and parks next to it. Once inside the two men meet up with the rest of the party. Even Big Bob has made it for the fitting. Arnold walks up to him, extending a hand.

“Bob, I’m so glad you were able to make it today.”

“Uh, yeah, the uh, Mrs. thought it would be good if I got my tuxedo fitted along with the rest of the guys. So, uh, you got something already picked out?”

Arnold brings a hand up to the back of his neck, giving it a small rub. “Well, not really. I thought the people here could help me out with that.”

“Well, just so you know, Miriam also said I should pick up the tab for the rentals so you and your friends don’t need to be worrying about the cost or anything.”

Arnold doesn’t know what he’s more shocked by, Bob picking up the cost of everyone’s tuxedos, or that he’s taking orders from Miriam now. “Again, Mr……um, I mean, Bob, that’s awfully generous of you.”

“Yeah, well, don’t worry about it, like I said before, we’re getting off easy here so it’s the least we can do.”

With all the groom’s men present, Cheryl leads them up a set of stairs to their men’s department. Here they see displayed a variety of tuxedos and suits in various colors and styles. The guys take a moment to look around as Arnold tries to decide just what style they should wear. Confused by it all, he looks to Cheryl for help.

“I’m not sure what to do here.” He says, desperate for some guidance. 

“Well, Helga’s dress is pretty traditional so I think perhaps a black tux would do well in this instance, with you wearing tails to set yourself apart from the rest of your party.”

Arnold thinks about it for a moment and tries to picture him and the rest of the guys in black tuxedos. Liking the thought he agrees.

“Um, yeah, that might be nice, but I don’t know what color I’m supposed to choose for the cumber bun and stuff.”

Cheryl gives him a smile. “Oh, don’t worry about that, we’ve already received the dresses from Ms Lloyd and we have a color that will match them very nicely. That is, so long as you don’t mind wearing pink.”

“No, I kind of figured it would be some shade of pink. Harold may complain, but I think the rest of the guys will go along with it without a fuss.”

“Splendid. Well then, if I can have you gather up your entourage, we can get started with the fittings.”

Arnold scans the room looking for his friends. He spies Sid over by the suits. He holds a black jacket out in front of him, showing it to Stinky, who ooo’s and ahhh’s over the silver decoration that runs down front of it along both sides of the buttons as well as along the cuffs of the sleeves. To Arnold it looks like a Mariachi’s jacket. He chuckles as he listens to his two friends talk.

“Boy howdy this is neat!” Sid says with a big smile on his face. “This sure would have gone well with my old Beatle boots.”

“Wilikers, Sid, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a jacket as purdy as that before.”

Searching the room some more, Arnold finds Gerald trying on the jacket of a very white, very retro, 70’s style suit as Bob shakes his head.

“Aw, come on Mr. Pataki, you’ve got to admit this is pretty funky. We’d look like some cooool dudes in these.”

“Listen, kid, that style went out with disco balls and platform shoes. That’s an era I was definitely not sorry to say good-bye to!”

“Yeah,” Harold adds, “I think that white suit is stupid. The only thing worse would be having to wear pink!”

Arnold walks up to Harold, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Harold, we won’t be going retro 70’s. But I am afraid you will have to wear at least a little pink.”

“Awww, that’s a sissy color! Why can’t we wear blue or something?”

“Because pink is Helga’s favorite color and we’re doing this for her, remember?”

“Awww, all right, I’ll wear pink for Helga. But if anybody makes fun of me while I’m wearing it I’ll pound them, you hear?”

Arnold laughs at his friend. “Okay, Harold, whatever you say. Hey, guys, Cheryl helped me pick out some traditional black tuxes, so we need to go try them on.” 

Once the guys are all gathered they spend the rest of the morning being measured and with a tuck here and a let out seam there they are all ready to be on their way. As a thank you to everyone for taking time out of their day for the fittings, Arnold treats them all to a lunch of pizza and beer before heading back home. Upon arriving at the boarding house, Arnold heads to the family room and goes over his checklist one more time. Laying back in his favorite recliner he places the list on his stomach, his hands folded over it as he takes a moment to rest his eyes. Without meaning to, he falls asleep, not waking up until he hears Helga’s voice as she walks into the family room.

xxxxx

Phillip fidgets as he sits strapped into his car seat in the back of Helga’s Subaru. He’s already annoyed at being forced into an outfit that is not only restricting, it’s also hot and uncomfortable. He lets his discomfort be known by keeping up a constant wail, turning the normally short drive to Patty’s parent’s house into an excruciatingly long journey. Helga does her best to block out Phillip’s protests as she pushes button after button on the car’s radio, trying to find something louder than her son. When they finally arrive at their destination Helga hurries to release her son from his prison. He stops his crying but looks at her through narrowed eyes, conveying the message that he is still not pleased. Helga tries to get him to smile before going into a roomful of chattering ladies, and really wants him to make a good impression.

She talks to her son with hope in her voice. “Oh, come on now, Phillip, it’s not that bad. Can you please smile for mommy?”

He replies with a squawk as he turns his head, avoiding her gaze. “Okay, be that way.” She says as she grabs the diaper bag and shower gift from the seat of the car before making her way to the front door.

Inside the house the room is a buzz with multiple conversations as the ladies munch on finger foods and sip the traditional sweet punch that always seems to make its way to occasions such as this. Phoebe’s mom, Reba, stands holding Patty’s hands, examining her as she fawns over how good she looks.

“Why, darling, you’re positively glowing with motherly love.”

Slightly embarrassed, Patty drills the toe of her right foot into the living room’s rug as she answers. “Gee, thank you Mrs. Heyerdahl.”

Off in another corner Mrs. Vitello can be heard chatting with Marilyn Berman and a few of the other ladies over the upcoming vow renewal.

Hearing the doorbell, Mrs. Smith excuses herself from her company to answer the door. Opening it she finds Helga standing on the other side as she does her best to juggle a squirming Phillip along with the diaper bag and shower gift. Inviting Helga in she takes the gift from her in an effort to lessen her struggle.

“Helga dear, I’m so glad you could make it. Here, let me take that from you and you can go join the other ladies in the living room.”

Thanking Mrs. Smith, Helga heads towards the sound of conversation and joins the others. As she steps through the threshold of the living room a momentary hush comes across the room, with all eyes turning towards the new arrival. Helga can’t help but get the feeling that she had been the topic of conversation as she stands in the quiet room. The silence only lasts a minute and is broken when Phillip, having recognizing his Grandma Mimi, stops his fussing and gives a happy squeal. He reaches out to his grandma as she gets up with arms outstretched, taking her grandson from his mother.

“Why there’s my big man.” Miriam says as she takes the boy into her arms.

After a quick hello to her daughter, Miriam takes her grandson over to where she was sitting. The whole time Phillip looks over her shoulder to his mother with a familiar Shortman smirk. Helga looks at her son with widened eyes. “Did he just mentally flip me off?” She thinks to herself. Giving her son a warning “Mom” look, she heads off to find Patty.

Seeing her friend surrounded by a group of town’s ladies, she gives Patty a nod of her head to which Patty nods back with a smile, acknowledging Helga’s presence. Returning to the living room conversation is once again hushed as Helga takes a seat next to her sister.

“Oh baby sister, it’s so good to see you.”

“Uh, yeah, you too, Olga. I get the feeling like I’ve interrupted something. You guys don’t have to stop talking because of me. Please, continue your conversation.”

The ladies look at each other not really knowing what to say. It’s finally Reba that breaks the ice. 

“Why, we were just talking about how our babies are all grown up now and getting married and having babies of their own. Right ladies?”

Mrs. Vitello is quick to agree. “Oh, yeah, right. I just can’t get over how fast time flies.” 

“Ain’t that the truth?” Says Marilyn as she wipes a stray tear from her eye. “I can’t believe our little Harold is going to be a father.”

Not really believing them, Helga just nods her head in agreement. “Yeah, I guess I can understand what you’re saying, I can’t believe Phillip is already six months old.”

After the last of the guests have arrived the party goes into full swing. The day is filled with laughter and well wishes towards the mother-to-be. By the time it’s over Helga takes her sleeping child who, due to an unfortunate diaper incident, is now dressed in a more comfortable onesie, and says her good-byes to the group. 

By the time she reaches the boarding house she has put the uncomfortable feeling of having been talked about mostly aside. Removing her sleepy child from his car seat, she quietly enters the house. She goes directly to the nursery so Phillip can finish his nap in comfort then begins her search for her husband. She finally finds him sleeping peacefully in his recliner, hands folded comfortably on his stomach. 

She notices a piece of paper sitting under his hands. It looks like a list of some sort and tries to slip it from beneath his fingers without waking him. Feeling the movement under his hands, Arnold is startled awake, his hands grabbing onto the paper. His sudden movement startles Helga in return, causing her to let go of the paper.

“Helga, you’re home!” He says as he gets up from his chair. Quickly shoving the paper into his pocket, he gives his wife a kiss on her cheek. “Welcome home, how was the shower?”

Helga eyes him suspiciously as she answers. “Oh, it was a typical shower, you know, there was food and games and lots of presents for the baby. So, how was your day? Do anything exciting?”

“Who, me? Uh, no, not really. Just spent the day lounging around. You know, enjoying a quiet Saturday alone.”

“Mmm-hmm. A quiet Saturday, huh? So what was with the list then?”

“List? What list?”

“The one you shoved into your pocket the second you woke up. It was almost as if you didn’t want me to see it.”

“Ohhh, that list. Yeah, well it was just, uh, my honey-do list. You know, all the stuff you’ve asked me to do around here. I, uh, was just looking over it trying to decide what to do first when I guess I fell asleep.”

“Is that so?”

He quickly changes the subject as he passes by her, keeping his back towards her so she can’t look into his eyes. “Uh, yeah. So, what do you feel like for dinner? I, myself, am starving.” He says as he pulls his phone out of his pocket. “I’ve got a hankering for some Chinese, what do you say?”

He can feel her eyes on his back as she watches him with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She yells to him as he leaves the room. “Oh, you know me, I’m not picky, order what you want.”

Helga thinks about Arnold’s evasiveness, along with the way people were acting at Patty’s shower. “This whole town has gone nuts-o.” She silently thinks as she heads down to the basement to soak the smelly stain out of a particular pair corduroy pants.


	94. Chapter 94

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s my birthday! Yay me! In celebration I think I shall post TWO chapters today just for fun. So I’ll give ya this one now and let it sit in your mind for a while, then later this afternoon I’ll post the next one, how does that sound? I hope you all have a great day but as for now, please enjoy……

Nadine stands in the insect section of the entomology department at UC Davis and watches a pair of Peruvian dung beetles as they move about their enclosure. The room is kept at a constant 95 degrees in an effort to mimic the various inhabitant’s natural environments. It is because of this that a light sweat now covers the girl’s caramel skin, causing it to shine in the room’s low light. As she leans in closer to the beetle enclosure her long, golden dreadlocks fall over one shoulder, spilling onto the clipboard she holds. 

Standing upright once again she now turns her attention to her proudest acquisition. It is a lone Dryococelus Australis, more commonly known as a Lord Howe Island stick insect, which she has named Lucy. It is the entomology department’s prized possession due to the fact that, before this, everyone thought the species to be extinct. It was Nadine’s discovery that had researchers from around the world clamoring to Lord Howe Island where, after months of searching, a small colony of Lucy’s brethren was found living happily among a small patch of native trees. As soon as word of this discovery got out, the insects were immediately put on the endangered species list, making it illegal for the colony to be disturbed in any way. It is because of this that UC Davis, as well as the Melborne Zoo, are the only two known facilities in the world to have the elusive Dryococelus Australis in their possession.

She smiles as she pulls the creature out of its tank, talking to it as it starts to crawl up her arm. She runs a finger gently down its back as she croons softly to it. “There’s my sweet Lucy, we’re looking mighty healthy today, aren’t we?”

Her attention is pulled away when she feels her phone vibrating in her pocket. Placing Lucy gently back in her tank, Nadine sees that it is her best friend, most likely calling to make sure she has gotten the time off to make it back to Hillwood for Helga’s little surprise ceremony.

If you were to have asked her back in the fourth grade if she’d ever end up friends with Miss Helga G. Pataki, she probably would have said no. Not that she really held anything against the girl. Yes, Helga was mean and bossy back then, but it was never really ever aimed directly at her, so she had no reason to not like her. It was more the fact that they just didn’t have anything in common. Sure, they were both always eager to join the gang in a quick game of baseball or the likes, but aside from that she usually spent most of her time following after her best friend, Rhonda. 

It wasn’t until the seventh grade that her casual friendship with Helga solidified into something deeper. It started one day in P.E. class when she was out on the athletic field, stretching in preparation for that day’s one mile, timed run around the track. She was alone when two bigger girls came up to her and started teasing her over her mixed heritage. They were getting their jollies out of making fun of the contrast between her darker skin and golden hair. Being more of a peacemaker than a fighter, all Nadine could bring herself to do was to try to ignore them, acting like it didn’t bother her, knowing that there was no way she could let them see the affect their taunts were having on her. 

Try as hard as she may, it was getting harder and harder to hold back the tears. That’s when she noticed a shadow abruptly lining up next to hers. Turning to see who the owner of such shadow might be, she notices that it’s Helga who is standing next to her, face contorted into a scowl as her fists clench and unclench at her sides. She takes a step in front of Nadine, shielding her from her verbal attackers, and lets loose with a tirade of obscenities and threats that would have the devil himself begging for mercy. Not wanting their heads shoved so far up their asses that they’d have to go through their bellybuttons just to blow their noses, the girls apologize to Nadine, begging her forgiveness before making a hasty retreat to the other side of the track.

It was then that Helga turned to her and Nadine could see the concern in her friend’s eyes as she asked her if she was okay. She thanked Helga, telling her that no matter how many times something like that happened, it was always a bit unnerving. Helga promised her right then that she would always have Nadine’s back, something she has never forgotten. 

This is the reason she is happy to play along with the ruse of being Rhonda’s maid of honor for the fake photo shoot, and why she is all smiles as she accepts Rhonda’s call.

“Hey, Rhonda, what’s got you up before noon? Has Hell frozen over?”

“Ha, ha, very funny, Nadine. I don’t always sleep in you know.”

“I know girl, I’m just joking with you. But, really, what’s up?”

“I’m just checking with all the girls to make sure everything’s a go. The renewal is getting closer and we don’t want any last minute problems you know.”

“I know, I know, and, yes, everything’s fine here. I was able to sneak in a few days off so I’ll even have some time to hang around Hillwood for a while afterwards.”

“That’s fantastic! I will be hanging around for a day or two myself. It will be absolutely wonderful to be able to catch up with you. Now you’re sure you don’t mind Phoebe being the one to actually stand up as Helga’s maid of honor for the ceremony, right?”

“No, girl, it’s all good. I know those two are best friends. Besides, I’m happy just to be able to be a part of this whole thing. Now Phoebe won’t be in the room with us as we get ready, right?”

“Right, we don’t want her presence making Helga even more suspicious than Arnold has been saying she already is.”

Nadine thinks about Arnold and his penchant for not being able to hold onto a secret very well. “Heh, I bet this whole secret thing is driving Arnold crazy.”

“Oh, yes, just as expected. It will truly be a miracle if he pulls this off without Helga finding out. Well, I must be on my way dear. I will see you in a couple of weeks. Toodle-oo.”

“Ok, Rhonda, bye.”

Nadine turns her attentions once again to Lucy, picking her up ever so gently. She strokes the insect’s back softly as she talks to her. “Yep, Lucy, it really will be a miracle if Arnold can pull this off.”

xxxxx

Arnold walks into the teacher’s lounge, anxious to get a second mug of coffee in him before tackling the day. He notices the new teacher, Nick, sitting on the small couch slowly flipping through the latest copy of People Magazine. Nick takes a moment to look up and see who it is that joins him in the otherwise empty room. Seeing Arnold, a wide smile hits his face as he gets up to shake his hand.

“Arnold my boy, good to see you this morning.”

Always happy to see Nick’s smiling face, Arnold is quick to take his hand, returning the greeting. “Hey, Nick, good to see you too. Hope all is well with you.”

“Oh, things couldn’t be better. How’s that pretty little wife of yours, and that adorable baby?”

Always proud of his family, Arnold subconsciously puffs out his chest a bit as he answers. “They’re doing well, thanks.”

“You sure must be proud of Helga, especially with her new found fame.”

“Oh, Nick, I don’t know if she’d consider being noticed by a few home town people fame.”

“What do you mean, my boy? Ohhh, you must not have seen this week’s People Magazine. That’s understandable since it just came out this morning.”

Arnold scratches the back of his neck as he gives his friend a strange look. “People Magazine? What about it?”

“Here, let me show you.” Nick picks up his copy and thumbs through the pages until he finds what he’s looking for. Handing the magazine over to Arnold he points to a particular article. “It’s all right there, under their Top Ten Up and Coming list. See, under the Children’s Literature category.”

Arnold scans the article until his eyes fall on the name Helga G. Shortman. His eyes grow wide as he reads causing Nick to let out with a little laugh. Arnold looks up at Nick with a smile.

“She’s made number three in the children’s category! Third place out of probably hundreds of new writers. That’s amazing!”

Nick holds his hands to his stomach as he gives a little chuckle and Arnold swears it comes out as a “ho-ho-ho”, and he can’t help but think to himself, “No wonder it always feels like Christmas when he’s around the guy”. “I thought you’d have known about this. I guess the magazine likes to keep things a secret until it’s out in print.”

Arnold looks back to Helga’s name as he absentmindedly answers. “Yeah, I guess so. Hey, Nick, do you mind if I keep this for a little while, just until I call Helga. I’ll bring it back to you at lunch break.”

“No, not at all. As a matter of fact, keep it, show it to the little lady in person.”

“Hey, thanks, Nick. I gotta go, I gotta see if Helga knows about this yet. Oh, yeah, you’re coming to the vow renewal, right?”

“Yep, the Misses and I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Excellent. Well, I’ll see ya, and thanks again.”

Nick watches as his new friend rushes out the door, chuckling over the boy’s excitement.

Once in his office, Arnold calls Helga, pacing the floor as he waits for her to pick up. After a few rings the phone goes to her voicemail. With a bit of irritation he leaves her a message.

“Hey, Helga, where are you? Have you heard about People Magazine yet? You need to call me, this is fantastic!”

Figuring she must be in the shower or something he puts his phone away and does his best to concentrate on the work in front of him as he waits for her to call him back. After an hour and a couple phone conversations from parents worried over their children’s academic performances, he forgets about the article and Helga’s failure to return his call.

xxxxx

Tonya stands at her locker lost in thought as she shoves her math and history books onto the bottom shelf. She grabs the books she’ll be needing for her first two classes and reaches up to slam the locker door shut. Not expecting to see Denise’s face lurking behind the door, she gives a little jump, dropping her backpack at her feet.

“Geeze, Denise, you almost gave me a heart attack, don’t sneak up on me like that.”

Her friend ignores the comment as she stands there, excitement shines in her eyes as she holds up a flyer to Tonya. “Look, the announcements are out in regards to this year’s prom. This is so exciting.”

Tonya grabs the flyer from Denise and gives it a once over. “Casino Royale, what a lame theme for a prom.”

“Are you kidding? I think it sounds like fun to me. There’s going to be actual table games like roulette and black jack. Every person gets $1,000 in ‘tokens’ and there’s going to be prizes for the top winners of the night.”

Handing the flyer back to Denise, Tonya picks up her backpack and the two girls start walking to their first class. Tonya gives a roll of her eyes as she talks. “Wonderful, just what we need, a bunch of under aged kids pretending to be big time gamblers. I can’t believe Dunn approved a theme like that.”

“Oh, come on, Tonya. It’s all in fun, and the money’s not real so technically no one will actually be gambling.” Denise stops walking and gives her friend a suspicious look. “Hey, I thought you’d be all over this. What’s wrong?”

Tonya gives a little huff at her friend as they continue to walk. “Heh, I don’t know what you mean. Nothing’s wrong.”

“I don’t know, Tonya. Are you upset because you don’t think Blake’s going to ask you to prom?”

Tonya’s step falters slightly at Denise’s question. Catching herself, and hoping the missed step has gone unnoticed she answers her friend. “Blake! As if I would go to the prom with that loser.”

Taken aback by Tonya’s response, Denise stops once again, this time grabbing Tonya’s arm and turning her so they are facing each other. “What did you just say? Did you just call YOUR Blake a loser?”

Not knowing why, Denise’s question irritates Tonya, causing her to snap at her friend. “He’s not MY Blake, and so what if I did call him a loser? It fits him don’t you think?”

“Wow, you calling Blake a loser. I swear I never thought I’d see the day…………” Denise narrows her eyes at Tonya now. “Waaait a minute. I know what’s going on here. You’ve stopped crushing on Blake because you like someone else now, don’t you?”

Tonya starts to blush and immediately denies what she’s truly feeling. “No, you’re wrong. I – I’ve just grown tired of Blake’s self-centeredness and have decided that I can do much better.”

“Oh yeah? Ohhh, I know what’s going on, you want Poem Boy to ask you to prom, don’t you?”

They’ve reached their class right as the bell begins to ring. Tonya gives an inward “Saved by the bell!” while outwardly she says “You’re crazy, Denise. Why on earth would I want to be asked to the prom by some person that I don’t even know? Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be counted as tardy, so I’ll see you inside.”

Denise watches Tonya as she enters the class, a smile forming on her lips. “Okay, Tonya.” She says quietly to herself, “You go ahead and believe that and we’ll just see what kind of song you’ll be singing when and if Mr. Poem Boy does happen to invite you to prom.”

xxxxx

Helga sits on the living room floor as Phillip proudly sits up next to her. He has a toy in each hand, which he happily waves in front of him, stopping every so often to stick one in his mouth. Helga smiles as she listens to the person on the other end of her phone. She has been receiving calls all day from well-wishers, anxious to congratulate her on making People’s Top Ten Up and Coming list. She’s exhausted and thinks she’ll most definitely lose her mind if she receives one more mention of the achievement. 

This is how Arnold finds her when he comes home from work. He enters the family room, not realizing that she’s on the phone.

“Hey, Helga, have you heard the news yet……………………….”

Helga holds out her index finger to him, signaling for him to hold that thought, as she says her good-byes to her current caller. After hanging up, she raises her face to her husband. “Sorry about that, welcome home.”

Arnold takes a seat next to her, Phillip gives him a hearty squeal as he holds out a rattle, a thin thread of drool attaching it to his lips. Arnold smiles at his son, carefully taking the rattle and giving it a shake much to Phillip’s delight. He looks back to Helga and gives her a quick kiss. “So, have you heard the news yet?”

“Ummm, if you’re talking about that article in People, yes, I’ve heard about it and have been hearing about it all day. Sorry I didn’t call you back, I never really got the chance.”

“That’s okay, look, I brought you a copy of the magazine.”

Helga takes the copy of People from her husband and scans the article for her name. “Wow, there it is, in print. That really makes it feel real now.”

“Of course it’s real! You’re a star.”

Helga lets out a loud laugh. “HA! Oh, Arnold, I’m hardly a star.”

“What do you mean, it says so right there, Helga G. Shortman, famous writer of children’s books.”

“Uh, if you’ll notice, that’s third famous. There’s two people ahead of me you know. Besides, this is just a list of people to keep an eye out for. It’s hardly the New York Times’s Best Seller list.”

“Honestly, Helga, when are you going to start giving yourself the credit you deserve? Like it or not, you, my dear, are an up and commer. 

“Yeah, well, I guess it’s kind of a cool thing.”

“KIND OF? It IS a cool thing. I’m surprised Carlos didn’t tell you that you had made the list.”

“I know, I called him when I first found out, he said People Magazine never leaks their list ahead of time so it was a surprise to him too. He also said for me to expect to be invited to do more book signings, and not just from local bookstores.”

Arnold doesn’t say anything, causing Helga to notice the look on his face.

“Arnold. What’s that look for?”

“What look? I have no ‘LOOK’.”

“Yes you do, you have that ‘I’m going to pretend I’m not jealous even though I’m jealous’ look. We’ve been through this, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, and I’m NOT jealous. Not anymore, at least.”

“Good. So, I was running over some dates with him about possibly doing another local signing. He was thinking something for Mother’s Day weekend might be fun what with me being a new mom and all. What do you think?”

Arnold’s stomach drops at the mention of Mother’s Day and he does his best not to panic. “Oh, Helga, I don’t know. Is that how you really want to spend your very first Mother’s Day? Hob knobbing with strangers? Besides, isn’t that the date of Sid’s photo shoot?”

“Oh, that’s right. I’ll have to tell Carlos no then, and anyway, it’s not ‘hob knobbing’, it’s just doing some public relations. Getting my face out there. Hob knobbing, I swear, where do you come up with these words? You make yourself sound like an old man.”

He thinks back to his conversation with Gerald over his taste in music. “I’m not an old man! Why do people keep likening me to old men?”

“Huh? Who called you an old man? I just said you sound like one. You’re not an old man, you’re more an old soul.”

“See, that’s what I keep telling Gerald. Anyway, enough talk. You go get yourself presentable to the outside world, and I’ll clean up Phillip then give Gerald a call. We’re going out to dinner to celebrate your new fame.”

Agreeing, she gets up and yells to him as she leaves the room. “Okay, but I stand by what I said, I’m not famous!”


	95. Chapter 95

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As Promised. Please enjoy...........

He lays in bed watching the ceiling fan spin above him as he waits for his breathing to slow down. There’s a light sheen of sweat covering his body and he feels as if he’s just run a marathon. He turns to look at her as she sits propped up against the headboard of their bed and wonders how she cannot even be winded after what they just did. There’s a look of contentment on her face as she rereads the article in People Magazine for the millionth time since he handed her the copy the night before. “Heh”, he thinks to himself, “don’t tell me you’re not proud of your accomplishment!” 

He rolls over to face her, throwing his arm across her waist. He starts to nibble on her hip causing her to tear her attention away from the magazine. She looks down at him and he tilts his head a bit so he can look up at her while softly sucking on the spot he just nibbled. He looks at her through one mischievous eye, a smile forming on his lips. Giggling, she rolls up the magazine and gives him a small whack on his head.

“Stop it. That tickles.”

“Well stop reading that magazine and pay attention to me.” He says through a fake pout. 

“Who are you, Phillip?” She talks to him like he’s a baby, “Does wittle Ar-nald want his mummy-wummy?”

“Oh, God, Helga, that’s hot.”

He rubs his hips against her and she can feel his growing interest in what she’s saying. “Criminy, Arnoldo. Naughty school girl is one thing, but I draw the line at spankings from mommy. It’s just, too………..weird. Besides, you have work to get ready for. Remember?”

He gives her hip one last bite as he pushes himself up to sit next to her. “Aw, you’re no fun.” Giving her a quick kiss, he rolls over her and slides off the bed. Turning to face her he stops in the doorway and gives her a leer. “Okay then, how about sick patient that needs to be sponge bathed by his sadistic nurse?”

Grabbing her pillow, she throws it at him, hitting him right in his face. “No! Now get in the shower before I………”

He looks at her hopefully. “Yessss, before you what?”

“Oh nevermind. You’d probably just make something dirty out of whatever I say.”

Sticking out his lower lip in a pout, he skulks away mumbling something about her lost sense of humor or the likes.

“What was that you said?” She yells after him.

“Aw, nothing.” He yells back as he closes the bathroom door.

xxxxx

It’s the middle of lunch and just as with Homecoming, the school is a buzz with excited chatter over this year’s prom. Tonya sits with her friends and only half listens to Heather gush over having had not one, but two guys ask her if she’d be their date. Denise has pulled out a sheet of notebook paper and is currently making a list of pros and cons between the two boys. 

Tonya’s gaze wanders over to the lunch line where she sees Charles paying for his meal. He turns and catches her eye, giving her a small smile. A blush starts to form on her cheeks when all of a sudden his expression changes. Not knowing the cause for his quick change in demeanor she watches him turn and start to leave the room just as a lunch tray is unceremoniously plopped down next to hers. Looking up to see who the owner of such tray could be, she watches Blake and crew as they take up the empty chairs that surround the girls. She quickly turns from Blake to the doors of the lunch room, just in time to see Charles disappear through them. Annoyed at the abrupt interruption of her shared moment with Charles, she all but sneers at Blake.

“Who said you could join us?”

Totally missing the daggers she is throwing at him, he coolly answers her. “Hey, it’s a free country. Me and my boys can sit where ever we want, and this time we want to sit here.”

Fearing the topic of prom being brought up with Blake sitting right next to her, she gets up to make a hasty retreat out of the lunchroom. “Well, I, for one, have just lost my appetite so if you’ll excuse me I think I’ll be on my way.” 

Blake looks over to the other girls that sit around the table. “What’s got her panties all in a bunch?”

Gina gives Blake a haughty look. “Maybe she just didn’t want to put up with you and your crew of Neanderthals.” 

Ignoring her friends, Denise is alarmed by Tonya’s odd behavior, and is quick to get up and follow her out of the room.

“Tonya! Tonya, slow down, will ya?” 

Finally catching up to her friend, she grabs her arm, stopping her from going any further. Shaking the girl’s grasp from her arm, Tonya’s eyes scan the hallway. “What do you want, Denise?”

“You worried me, running out of the lunchroom like that. What’s wrong, I thought you’d be happy that Blake sat with us.” 

Tonya looks at her friend, the annoyance clearly written all over her face. “And have to sit there as the subject of prom comes up? Why would I want to waste my time with him?”

“But, Tonya, he could have been using that as an excuse to sit next to you and ask you out to pruh…..ahhh, ohhh, I get it!” Denise’s eyes widen with understanding as the truth slowly dawns on her. “You knew that, didn’t you! You thought that’s what Blake might have been doing and you don’t want him to ask you to prom, do you! You’re still waiting for Poem Boy to ask you! I knew it!”

Fearing that Charles could be close by, Tonya quickly places her hand over Denise’s mouth. “Shhh, quiet! Do you have to blab my business to the whole school?”

“Why won’t you just admit it? You’re falling for Poem Boy and want him to ask you to prom.”

“Okay! So what if I do?”

“But, Tonya, you don’t even know who it is. What if it’s some creeper, or someone just playing a joke on you? You said so yourself, that it’s most likely some kind of joke.”

“Yeah, well maybe I’ve changed my mind. Maybe I’m not so sure that it’s just a joke.”

“And maybe you have an idea as to who Poem Boy really is.”

Tonya’s silence answers Denise’s question. “You do! Okay, spill it, just who do you think Poem Boy is?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do. Now, lets’ see, who could possibly have a secret crush on you? Could it be Buddy from English? He’s always staring at you all goofy eyed.”

“Ugh, no! Besides, he stares at all the girls with that goofy expression.”

“Then how about, Richard? He’s quiet and kind of cute in a shy way.”

“No, definitely not Richard.”

“And why not?”

“Because, he’s into guys, doi.”

“He is? Since when?”

“Um since about a year ago when he came out at Cindy’s end of the year party. Remember, when he and Justin were caught kissing in the kitchen?”

“Ohhh yeeeaaah. How could I forget that? Anyway, you’re changing the subject. Tell me who you think Poem Boy is.”

Just as Tonya is about to answer her friend, the bell rings, signaling the end of first lunch. Thankful for the disruption, Tonya turns and heads towards her locker as the hallway starts to fill with students. “That’s the bell, we should get going.”

Frustrated, Denise follows behind her friend. “Just because the bell rang doesn’t mean this is over. I’m going to figure this out if it’s the last thing I do!”

Xxxxx  
Arnold stands at the kitchen stove, stirring a pot of leftover stew from a few nights ago. He had read the note Helga had left for him, telling him that she and Olga were spending an afternoon out together shopping and if she wasn’t home by five to please start dinner. With it now being closer to six he wonders just what could be keeping her. He’s tried to reach her on her cell phone, but his calls kept getting sent to her voicemail so after the fourth attempt he finally gave up. He wonders if he should try once more when he hears her Subaru as it pulls into their driveway. Soon afterwards she comes rushing in with Phillip’s carrier, as well as an armload of packages.

“Well, there you are.” He says a bit relieved. “I thought I was going to have to call Search and Rescue to go looking for you.”

Taking Phillip out of his carrier, she gives Arnold a kiss on his cheek. “I know, I’m sorry. I should have called. I ended up turning my phone off because it wouldn’t stop ringing.”

“More well-wishers?”

“Yeah, and some of the calls were from people I haven’t heard from since we were in high school. Heh, you get your name in a magazine and all kinds of people start coming out of the woodwork.” 

“Well, I’m sure they’re just excited to be able to say they know someone famous.”

“Arnoldo………….”

“I know, you say you’re not famous, but the constant ringing of your cell phone says otherwise.”

Helga places a hungry Phillip into his highchair and opens up a fresh jar of baby food. It’s their first attempt at getting him to eat meat so she holds her breath as she offers him his first bite. Taking the food in his mouth, Phillip lets it sit on his tongue for a moment as he gets used to the new texture. Deciding it’s not poison, he quickly swallows and opens his mouth for more.

“So what’s on the baby menu tonight?” Arnold asks as he picks up the jar of food.

“Something new, it’s a mix of chicken, sweet potatoes and rice. He seems to like it.”

Arnold crinkles up his nose as he gives the jar a sniff. “Well, he can have it, I’ll stick with leftover stew. So, what all did you and Olga go shopping for?”

“Oh, I got a message from Rhonda with the details of the exact shoes she wants all the girls to wear for the photoshoot. Olga and I had to go to five stores before we found one that carried what I was looking for.”

“She was that specific, huh?”

“Yep. Some fancy little wedge heeled thing bedazzled with all these crystal gems. Sort of like Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz only in silver. They look awfully fancy to me for just a bride’s maid dress, but she said something about them being all the rage in Paris, so who am I to differ.”

“Well, I’m sure Rhonda knows what she’s talking about.”

“I guess. Hey, would you mind finishing here with Phillip? I want to get this stuff put away before dinner.”

Arnold takes Helga’s seat in front of Phillip and looks at Helga questioningly as she places a bag on the table. “What’s this?” He asks as she leaves the room.

She gives him a smile as she walks away. “Oh, just a little present I picked up for you.”

Putting down the jar of baby food, he picks up the bag and looks inside, a smile coming to his face as he pulls out an old fashioned, white nurse’s uniform, complete with stethoscope and little white hat. Placing it back in the bag he looks at his son. “Phillip my boy, I’m afraid bedtime is going to be on the early side for you tonight.”

xxxxx

Tonya sits across from Denise in a booth at Slausen’s, each one lost in their own thoughts as they sip on their frosty shakes. Tonya reaches out and grabs a French fry from their communal plate of food, dipping it in some ketchup. Chewing it slowly she wonders just how to let Charles know that regardless of what he saw in the lunch room, she is not with Blake.

Grabbing a fry for herself, Denise brings up the subject of Poem Boy yet again. “So, it’s just you and me now, no one to listen in. Now will you tell me who you think Poem Boy is?”

Tonya looks at Denise, they have been friends most of their lives, and never once has there been a time when either of them has betrayed the other’s trust. Figuring that if there’s anyone she can unload her burdens on it’s Denise, so she makes the decision to let her in on her suspicions.

“Okay, listen up. What we’re about to talk about goes no further than this booth, got it?”

“Of course, Tonya. When have I ever let out one of our sworn secrets?”

“Right. Well, don’t laugh, but I have my reasons to believe that Poem Boy is actually…………..”

Just as Tonya is about to let Denise in on her suspicions, her phone goes off, signaling an incoming text. Both girls look from each other, to the phone, then back to each other.

“Well?” Denise asks, “Are you going to check it?”

Nodding her head, Tonya clicks on the message, showing it to Denise so they can read it together.

“The envious die not once,  
But as oft as the envied win applause.  
Such is I when you are  
With another”

Denise looks at Tonya. “That first part is a quote by Baltazar Gracian. The second half he inserted on his own. He must have seen you with Blake today at lunch and it made him jealous.”

“Are you sure that’s what that means?”

“I’m positive. The envious, that’s him seeing you with Blake, and the envied winning applause, that’s Blake giving you attention. Don’t you see, every time he sees you with Blake it makes him jealous! Oh, Tonya, I’m dying here! You HAVE to tell me who you think it is!”

Leaning against the booth’s backrest, Tonya stares at the words on her phone. “He’s jealous.” She thinks to herself. Without looking at her friend, she gives her what she’s been waiting for.

“I think it might be Charles.”

Denise knits her brow as she questions Tonya. “Charles, as in computer geek Charles?”

Tonya nods her head in answer as enlightenment spreads across Denise’s face. 

“Of course!” Denise says through a smile. “Of course it’s Charles. Who else has the knowhow to do what he’s done? And who else has known you most of his life? Oh just imagine, him harboring these feelings for you all these years. It’s so romantic. Wow, who knew he was such a romantic? Are you going to let him know that you know?”

“No.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because I’m still not 100% sure it’s him, it’s only a hunch.”

“And a pretty damn good one if you ask me. So, what are you going to do then? Avoid Blake until Poem Boy makes a move?”

“Probably, if I have to.”

“Okay, suit yourself, but I sure do hope he makes a move sooner rather than later.”

“Yeah, me too.” Tonya whispers as she reaches for another fry.


	96. Chapter 96

An old, faded quilt sits atop a shady piece of grass in the middle of City Park. Adorning it is a picnic basket emptied of its goods which have been spread upon the quilt. Phillip sits in sheer contentment as he watches an ant struggle with its payload of a dropped breadcrumb which must be at least five times its size. The boy reaches out with his chubby fingers, and practices his newly developed pincer grasp, trapping the ant between his thumb and index finger. Bringing his treasure closer to his face, he loosens his grasp, allowing his captive to make a hasty escape across his hand, the breadcrumb long forgotten. Phillip reaches over with his other hand in an effort to grab the ant once again, but the moving target proves too difficult for him, so he settles on just watching the ant as it makes its way up his arm. He gives an amused giggle at his prey, causing his father to cast his gaze in his direction.

“What’s that you got there Philly Boy?” Arnold says as he leans in closer to his son.

Phillip looks at him with a smile, then turns his attention back to the ant. He tries once again to recapture the moving object, which only leads to the ant crawling onto his other hand. Delighted, Phillip gives a squeal as he lifts his hand to his father, showing him the ant.

“Aw, it seems Phillip has a new pet.” He says, causing Helga and Gerald to turn their way.

“Get that dirty thing off our son!” Helga demands of her husband. “You don’t know where that thing’s been crawling.

Gerald waves a hand at his friend, brushing her comment off. “Oh, relax, Mamma, there ain’t nothing wrong with a boy playing with ants. I know me and my man here had our share of ant play when we were little. Right Arnold?”

Arnold gives a chuckle at the memories. “Heh, yeah, we sure did. Remember that time we went on the hunt to refill that old ant farm I had. Little did we know the ants we went after were actually fire ants!”

“Ohhh boy, once they started biting the only thing we could do was jump in the old frog pond to get them off.”

“Ha ha, yeah. Then we showed up at your house soaking wet, spreading mud all over your mom’s clean floor. She just about went after us with her mop which was still dripping with soapy water.”

The two men share a good laugh at their story as Helga scoffs and shakes her head. “What is it with you and ants, Arnoldo? I remember that time we had to spend the weekend in that bio sphere thing your grandpa had set up in your backyard. You were all about the ants then too.”

“Hey, that was for a very important scientific experiment.”

“Ohh, yeah, real scientific, moldy potatoes and dirty old ants. Some experiments those were.”

“Well, they would have been good experiments, if you hadn’t of sabotaged them!”

“Heh, I didn’t sabotage them. It was morning and I was hungry. What was I supposed to do?”

“Maybe not eat all your food in less than an hour perhaps?”

Gerald smiles at his two friends, shaking his head. “Now, now, you two, lets’ not spend our afternoon dwelling on the past, especially when your son is about to eat his first ant.” 

Gerald gives a nod of his head towards Phillip, who is in the process of bringing his right hand to his mouth when both Helga and Arnold react with a loud, “Phillip! NO!”

Phillip’s hand hovers a couple of inches from his mouth as he turns to look at his parents. 

He finds their wide eyes and panicked expressions comical and he gives a little chuckle. Arnold gently reaches out, placing his finger on Phillip’s arm, letting the ant crawl onto it. He holds his finger up to his son, allowing him a safe, up close view of the insect before letting it go in the grass. Phillip watches as the ant disappears through the blades of grass. 

Becoming bored, he now turns his attention to his Uncle Gerald’s car keys that have been carelessly thrown down on a corner of the quilt. The child leans forward onto his belly and reaches out to the keys. The three adults watch, eager to see what the boy does. Extending one arm out in front of him, Phillip places his weight onto it and pulls himself forward. Extending his other arm out, he repeats the process, closing the gap between him and the keys. The three adults look at each other in astonishment as Phillip army crawls towards his target.

“Will you look at that.” Gerald says.

“He’s starting to crawl.” Arnold replies through a smile.

“My baby is crawling!” Helga cries through a mixture of pride and sadness over yet another milestone, proving that her little boy is, indeed, growing up.

Once Phillip reaches the keys, he takes them in his hand, then rolls himself up into a sitting position, his little fist clinging tightly to his prize. Arnold looks at Helga and although she is smiling, her eyes betray her true feelings. He doesn’t like her being sad over the inevitable and wishes there was something he could do to cheer her up. As if on que, they hear the tinkling bells of the Jolly Ollie Man’s truck.

“Hey!” Arnold says as he starts to get up. “It’s the Jolly Ollie Man! What’s say I buy Mr. Fudgie Bars for everyone, okay?” He doesn’t wait for an answer as he goes running towards the truck to stand patiently behind an already forming line of hungry park goers.

The two friends are left to sit silently on the quilt and Helga resumes her prior position of leaning back against the shade tree once more. She studies her friend and thinks it’s time to try and get some much needed information out of him.

“So, Geraldo, Arnold never told me just what you two did to pass the time the weekend of my book signing.”

Gerald stiffens at the question and slowly turns to look at Helga. He finally realizes what Arnold means about her steely eyes boring into him and his dark skin begins to pale under her glare. He does his best not to stumble over his words as he answers her question.

“Oh, uh, the book signing weekend, huh? Gee, that was a few weeks ago, we didn’t do too much, at least nothing exciting enough to jump into my mind right now.”

“Oh, come on, Geraldo. Try.”

“Well, um, we met up and spent the afternoon together.”

“Doi, I know that, but what did you DO all day?”

“Well, we hung out, that’s all. We had some lunch and hung out.”

“At the boarding house?”

“Huh?”

“Did you spend all day at the boarding house?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Mostly, I mean, we did stop for lunch.”

“Stop, for lunch? As in you were out and stopped to get a bite to eat along the way?”

A light sweat begins to form on Gerald’s brow and he absentmindedly brushes it away. Turning his head to avoid Helga’s stare, he notices Arnold finally making his way back to them. Relieved, he lets out a little breath.

“Yo, Arnold my man, it took you long enough.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, there was a long line.”

He distributes the Mr. Fudgie Bars and takes a seat next to his wife. “So, what did I miss while I was gone?”

“Oh, nothing much.” Helga says, her gaze not leaving Gerald. “We were just sharing memories of the weekend I had my book signing.”

Arnold’s eyes immediately grow wide as he catches his friend’s eye. “Oh, is that so?” He says.

Gerald affirms Helga’s statement with a nervous giggle as he diverts his eyes. Taking a bite of her ice cream Helga just gives a casual, “Uh huh.” As her mind stores away the exchange between the two men for later use.

xxxxx

Tonya sits with Denise on the stoop in front of her house. Their conversation jumping from topic to topic. They’re currently in the middle of discussing the topic of yet another paper they are supposed to write for Mr. Clausen’s English class when they see Harvey come walking down the street, his heavy mail bag slung across his shoulder. He stops and greets them when he reaches Tonya’s house.

“Well hello, ladies. Enjoying the beautiful spring day I see.”

The girls give Harvey a cheerful smile as they return his greeting. “Hi, Harvey.” They say in unison.

“What’s you got for us today, Harvey? Anything interesting?”

Harvey rummages through his bag. “Well, lets’ see, if I remember correctly there is something here addressed to you, Tonya.”

Tonya’s curiosity is piqued at the mention of mail for her. “Ooo, really? I never get mail.”

“Aha, here it is.” Harvey exclaims as he pulls out a small, unassuming package. It’s wrapped in plain brown paper and has no return address.

The two girls look at each other as Tonya takes the package from Harvey. Saying a quick thank you to their friend, Tonya drops the rest of the mail on the kitchen counter as she and Denise quickly run upstairs to her bedroom. After closing the door behind them, the two girls sit opposite each other on Tonya’s bed.

“Who do you think it’s from?” Denise asks.

“Well it’s obviously from Poem Boy, it has to be. Who else would send me a package?” She delicately holds the package as if it’s loaded with dynamite, careful not to jostle it too much. “I wonder what it could be.” She quietly whispers.

Unable to stand the suspense, Denise bursts out, “Well, open it already! I’m dying over here!”

With an almost reverence, Tonya starts to carefully remove the paper wrapping to reveal a taped up box. Giving Denise a quick glance, she looks back to the box and carefully opens it. Inside she finds another box, only this one is beautifully wrapped, and tied with a delicate gold ribbon. Unable to stand it any longer, Tonya rips through the wrapping, unveiling a plain white, velvet box. There is a note along with the box and she wonders which she should open first.

“What do you think, Denise, the box or the note first?”

“Oh, I can’t stand it! The box! Open the box!”

As Tonya opens the box, her smile is replaced with a look of confusion. There, sitting in the box, is a key. Removing it from the box she sees that it is attached to a delicate gold chain. Holding it by the end of the chain, she dangles it between herself and her friend. It sparkles as the light from her window glints off of it. 

As if in awe, Tonya looks at the key and whispers. “What in the world? What do you suppose it’s to?”

Denise clasps her hands to her chest and looks wistfully at the key. “Oh, perhaps it’s the key to his heart, and he’s giving it to you. Oh that’s so romantic!”

“You mean so sappy. That can’t be it.” 

Remembering the note, Tonya sets down the key and reads it out loud.

“Time is soon nearing when all shall be revealed,  
But for now I just watch as I keep my lips sealed.  
You can be certain my darling, that my feelings are true,  
That there is no greater love than what I have for you.

So please take this key, keep it close to your heart,  
To remind you of me while we must be apart.  
Then in just three days’ time you shall receive more,  
Of the knowledge you’ll need that will open the door.”

Tonya sits, staring at the note as she holds the key up to her heart. Desperate to know more, Denise grabs the note from her, picking it apart line by line. 

“Well, the first thing we know is that whomever it is, he’s definitely in love with you.”

Tonya rubs the key between her fingers as she continues to hold it to her heart. A quiet, “Uh huh.” Is all she can get out.

“In just three days’ time. With this being Saturday, that means you can expect to hear from him again on Tuesday.”

Again Tonya answers with a simple, “Uh huh.”

“Hmmm, more knowledge to open the door. I wonder what that means. Hmmm, again, he could mean the door to his heart.”

Shaking her head to clear it, Tonya finally finds her voice once again. “No, I don’t think that’s what he means, that’s too……… cliché.”

“Well then, I guess all we can do is to wait for Tuesday to come around.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Tonya says as she puts the chain around her neck, slipping the key underneath her t-shirt, her fingers coming up to play with it through the soft material.

She glares at Denise, sticking a finger out towards her. “Now, I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that none of this goes past this room, right?”

“Right!” Denise says as she hands the note back to her friend.

Tonya takes it, locking it away securely in her desk drawer, a small smile playing on her lips as she thinks to herself, “Good show Charles old boy, good show.”


	97. Chapter 97

Having woken up early, Arnold has some time before he has to rush off to work, so that is why he is now on his hands and knees, butt up in the air, staring down his now 7-month-old child. Phillip sits and looks at him with a grin as he awaits his father’s next move. Feigning an attack, Arnold pretends to start the chase as Phillip lets out a squeal, turning his body to crawl away. He goes no more than a few feet when he stops and looks over his shoulder. Arnold looks him square in the eye, and with an over exaggerated “I’m going to get you!” takes off after him. Again Phillip squeals as he crawls down the hallway, laughing joyously as he goes. Downstairs, you can hear the “thump-thump-thump” of Arnold’s hands and knees as they hit the floor. Reaching out Arnold grabs a hold of Phillip’s right ankle, hindering his escape. Phillip rolls onto his back with a hearty laugh as Arnold crawls over to him. Still on his hands and knees, Arnold towers over the giggling Phillip and bends down to blow a raspberry on the child’s stomach. 

With a belly laugh, Phillip twists his body, coming to his knees once again. Seeing his mommy at the end of the hallway, he takes off after her, looking in back of him, making sure his father is following. Phillip reaches his mommy’s legs and scoots behind them, peeking around to the side at his dad who now lays flat on his stomach staring his child down. Quickly jutting an arm towards his wife’s legs he yells “I got ya!” as Phillip ducks out of his reach. With her child sitting behind her, Helga spreads her legs apart, exposing him to his fate. Arnold once again gets to his hands and knees and lunges between Helga’s legs, grasping his child by the waist. 

“Ha ha ha! I’ve got you now Philly Boy!” Arnold yells to his son’s delight.

He rolls onto his back, bringing his child with him to sit on his stomach. Helga steps over the two and leans against the hallway wall as she looks down at her two men.

“Criminy, Arnold, it sounded like a herd of buffalo up here as you were crawling around.”

“Well, I couldn’t help it, this guy is fast. I had to go full out just to keep up.”

“Wow, out run by a baby. I now know who I want running behind me if there’s ever a zombie apocalypse.” 

“What! You’d throw me under the bus in a zombie attack? Why, I thought you loved me.”

“I do love you, but in the case of zombie attacks, it’s every man for themselves.”

“I see how it is. Well I, for one, would sacrifice my very own life if it meant saving you.”

“Oh sure, you say that now, but you just wait until your brain is in peril of being someone’s breakfast and we’ll see how quickly you change your tune.”

Arnold gives her a smirk, then looks at Helga questioningly.

“Hey, Helga, if you ever did turn into a zombie, would you try to eat my brain?”

Helga thinks about this for a minute before she answers. 

“Hmmm, good question. I guess it would depend on Phillip. If he wasn’t already a zombie then I think I’d spare you to protect him. BUT, if he was a zombie baby, then I’d definitely turn you into one too so then we could be a zombie family.”

“Hey, that’s not a bad costume idea for Halloween this year. We can go as a family of zombies.”

“What? You’re planning on taking Phillip trick-or-treating this year? Won’t he be a little young for that?”

“No, of course not. He’ll be walking by then so it’ll be perfect.”

“Well, whatever, we have time to think about that later. For now, though, I wanna see that honey-do list you have.”

A moment of panic washes over Arnold. “Th-the honey-do list?”

“Yeah, the one you had the other day. I want to add something to it.”

“Oh, uh, what is it you want to add?”

“Well, now that Phillip is crawling we really need to install some baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs.”

“Oh, yes, we do. I don’t need to put that on the list, I’ll remember. Besides, I already have the gates in the basement, I just need to put them up.”

“Well, let me see the list anyway, I want to see what all you have on there. Maybe there’s stuff missing that should really be added.”

Needing a way out of this predicament, Arnold gets up and hands Phillip to Helga.

“Okay, but not now. I’ve let time slip away playing with Phillip here and I don’t want to be late for work. I’ll – I’ll get it to you tonight.”

“Just tell me where it is and I’ll get it myself.”

Arnold pats his pocket and gives her a nervous smile. “Oh, uh, well I have it right here but no time now, gotta get running.”

Side stepping Helga, he continues to smile as he hightails it down the stairs to the bottom floor of the boarding house. Grabbing his briefcase off the kitchen table he slams the door behind him as he leaves.

Phillip sits playing with Helga’s hair as she holds him propped up on her hip. Hearing the sound of the back door closing, Helga narrows her eyes as she looks at the empty staircase.

“Something doesn’t smell right here and I think it’s coming from you, Mr. Shortman.” Helga thinks to herself as she hears the garage door close with a bang.

xxxxx

Arnold’s arrived at work early and sits in the teacher’s lounge sipping on a mug of coffee. He has a piece of paper and is trying his best to come up with stuff to put on his previously non-existent honey-do list. He’s been able to come up with a few items that have been needing fixing for quite some time now, but wants to add a few more. He chews on the end of his pen in deep concentration when his best friend comes walking through the door.

Gerald reaches out his fist to his friend. “Arnold, my man! How ya doing this morning? What’s got you here so early?” 

Arnold looks up at Gerald. Seeing his fist hanging in the air in front of him, he taps it with his while wiggling his thumb. “Oh hi, Gerald.”

Gerald notices the look on Arnold’s face. Growing concerned, he sits down next to him.

“You look like you lost your best friend.” Gerald thinks about what he just said. “Hey, that would be me and I know I’m not lost. So what’s eating at you?”

Arnold heaves a sigh before holding up his makeshift list.

“Well, it started the day of the tuxedo fitting. After I got home I was sitting in my chair going over the list. I closed my eyes for just a moment and then accidentally fell asleep while still holding onto the list.”

“So?”

“So, Helga came home and found me sleeping and was trying to get a peek at the list.”

Gerald covers his face with his hand as he shakes his head. “Arnold, Arnold, Arnold, what’s wrong with you? You’ve got to be more careful my man.”

Arnold gives him an exasperated look. “I know that, Gerald, I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Anyway, I woke up in time to slip the list in my pocket before she had a chance to really see it. She started asking questions about it and I made up some excuse telling her it was a list of chores that needed getting done around the boarding house.”

“Did she believe it?”

“Yeah, she did. She believed it enough to ask to see the list this morning so she could add some stuff to it.”

“Oh, man, Arnold. So what did you do?”

“What could I do? I made up some lame excuse about being late for work and left before she could say anything else. Now I have to come up with a list of chores that I’m probably going to be stuck spending the next months’ worth of weekends doing.”

“Man, Arnold, only you can get yourself in predicaments like this. Well, I don’t envy you.” Gerald slaps him on his shoulder as he gets up. “I’m just going to leave you to your list. Good luck.”

“Yeah, thanks, Gerald.” Arnold sighs as he turns back to his list.

It takes him about five more minutes to come up with a couple more chores that could be done around the house. Adding the addition of putting up the child gates, he takes great care to try to make the list look old and worn. After smearing the ink some, he folds and refolds the paper as well as giving it a good crumple or two. He adds a drop or two of coffee on it and considers it good to go. Shoving it in his pocket, he hopes it’s good enough to pass Helga’s inspection and gets up to finally start the work day.

xxxxx

With it finally being Tuesday morning, Tonya and Denise are anxious to see just what Poem Boy has in store for them today. The last three days seemed to relentlessly drag on as the two girls speculated and wondered. Racing to Tonya’s locker, her hand gives a shake as she works the combination to the lock. With the last number in place, she looks to Denise before opening the door.

“Well,” she says, “here goes nothing.”

She swings the door open expecting to see another note or a box, or perhaps even more balloons. What she didn’t expect was to find her locker empty of any foreign objects. She gives Denise a confused look before scouring her locker for some sort of something that would let her know that Poem Boy was there. After opening all her books and checking each shelf twice she gives up and closes the door. Leaning her back to the row of lockers, she looks at Denise.

“I don’t get it. The note said three days’ time. It has been three days since I received the key. Where is his next note?”

Denise considers this for a moment. “Well, perhaps he is planning to get in touch with you in some other way. Maybe by text or through the mail again.”

Tonya thinks about this and agrees with her friend. “Yeah, you’re right. Who said it was going to be through a note in my locker. It could be anything really.”

Denise gives a far off, wistful look. “Oh, just think, he could make his next move at any moment throughout the day.”

“Yeah, that’s what worries me. I have no idea when it could be coming. What if it’s something big that draws attention to me again, like the balloons? What if it’s worse than the balloons? What if he breaks into the PA system and starts spouting off poetry with MY name in it?”

“Oh I think that would be terribly romantic. Don’t you?”

“Yeah, romantic and embarrassing!”

“I don’t think he’ll call that much attention to you. He obviously knows you and knows how you don’t like to have a lot of attention drawn to you. No, I think it will be something more subtle, like the others. Well, minus the balloons, of course. That was pretty spectacular.” 

“Yeah, it was, wasn’t it? Well, I guess all we can do is sit and wait now. Come on, the bells going to ring soon and I don’t want to be late to Mr. Clausen’s class. I have a few questions for him about that paper that’s due.”

As the girls reach their classroom, Tonya takes a good look at her desk before sitting down, checking for anything out of the ordinary. Not finding anything she gives a little sigh before putting her backpack down and pulling out her note on the paper she’s started to write. Walking up to Mr. Clausen’s desk she forgets about Poem Boy for the time being and concentrates on her writing assignment.

The next few classes go on pretty much like the first, with Tonya checking out her seat before sitting down, only to keep coming up empty. By lunch time she pretty much figures that Poem Boy has either decided to get in contact with her through text, or not at all, so after paying for her food, she and Denise take a seat at an empty table and quietly begin to eat.

Their silence is interrupted as Blake and a few of his friends unceremoniously sit down at their table. 

Tonya gives Blake an annoyed look as he smiles down at her. “What are YOU looking at?” She says trough a sneer.

“Well, I thought I was looking at a friend, but now I’m not so sure. What’s got your panties in a bunch?”

“Nothing that concerns you. So, what do you want?”

“What, do I have to want something to sit next to you? What’s wrong with you, Tonya? You’ve been awfully bitchy over these last couple of weeks. Did I do something wrong?”

She gives him a wide eyed look. “Did you do something wrong? No, you didn’t do anything wrong. As a matter of fact, that’s just your problem, you never DO anything. All you DO is walk around like you’re God’s gift to mankind, thinking only of yourself. You never take anyone else’s feelings into consideration.”

Blake starts to get a bit angered at Tonya’s words. “That’s not true. I’ve done nothing but think about YOUR feelings for the last two weeks. I’ve been trying to talk to you but all of a sudden it seems like you don’t even want to be seen sitting next to me. What’s going on with you, Tonya?”

She looks at Denise through the corner of her eye hoping for some help but all her friend can do is sit and wait to hear what she has to say. Turning back to Blake, she softens a little.

“I – I’m sorry, Blake. I guess I haven’t been very congenial to you over the last couple of weeks. That’s my fault, I’ve just been dealing with some stuff. I didn’t mean to be rude to you.”

“Well, okay, I guess. It’s no big deal, really.” He looks at the key that hangs down from Tonya’s neck, holding it in his fingers as he turns it about. “What’s this?”

Tonya had forgotten that she was wearing the key and immediately grabs it from his hand. “Oh, uh, it’s nothing, just a key. You know, it’s all the rage now a days to wear old keys as jewelry.”

Blake and his friends give her a puzzled look. “Really, I’ve never heard that. Have any of you?” He looks to his friends and they all have the same puzzled expression on their faces.

A bit nervous, Tonya tries again to dodge the question. “Oh, well, it’s girl’s fashion, ya know. What do a bunch of jocks know about girl’s fashion?”

“I guess. Well, anyway, now that I’ve got you here and we’re talking all civilized with each other again, I have something I’ve been wanting to ask you….”

Fearing that he’s going to pop the question and ask her to prom, Tonya immediately stands up and makes an excuse to leave. “Oh, hey, will you look at the time. I forgot that I need to get to my next class early. I’m, uh, having trouble in math and my teacher said I could stop by before class for some tutoring on last night’s homework. Yeah, I, uh, hate to eat and run but I’d better be going.”

Looking at Denise, she grabs her backpack and heads out of the cafeteria before Blake has a chance to respond, Denise following closely behind her.

“Tonya, slow down!”

“You don’t understand.” Tonya says as Denise finally catches up with her. “What if he was going to ask me to prom? What if Char……… I mean Poem Boy was somehow watching? I couldn’t take the chance.”

“I guess I understand, but did you have to just leave Blake sitting there? He was actually trying to be nice to you.”

As Tonya reaches her locker she hangs her head and sighs. “Geeze, thanks for the guilt trip, Denise.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s true ya know.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll apologize to him the next time I see him.”

She works the combination to her locker, her conscience filled with guilt over how she treated Blake. She’s not really paying attention when she hears Denise speak up as the door to the locker opens.

“Tonya, look!”

Tonya looks from Denise’s face to the inside of her locker. There on the bottom shelf is another brightly wrapped box. She takes it out, turning it in her hands as she studies it from all sides.

“What are you waiting for?” Denise says, hardly able to contain herself. “Open it already!”

“Oh, yeah, right.” Tonya replies before very carefully removing the bright wrappings. Just as before, she slowly lifts the lid of the box, her brow once again knitting in confusion at its contents.

“What on earth?” She mumbles.

“What is it? Let me see.”

Tonya hands the box over to Denise who is just as confused. “It’s one of those countdown things. Look at the numbers, it’s counting down the time.”

“Eighty-three hours. That brings us to sometime during the weekend.”

“If my calculations are correct, it brings us to midnight on Saturday.” Denise says as she quickly does the math in her head. “Hey, what else is that in the box, it looks like eyeglasses?”

Tonya picks up the pair of glasses. They are the standard, black rimmed glasses one would wear to view a movie in 3D. She holds them to her eyes and looks at the distorted view. “They’re 3D glasses.”

“Look!” Denise says, spying another note sitting at the bottom of the box. “What’s it say?”

Tonya holds the note out and they both begin reading.

“In just four days’ time expect to hear more,  
In regards to the key that will open the door.  
You’ll receive your next package like the last one was found,  
Then have only hours before time has run down.  
So seek no more answers from this lowly boy,  
And I pray that come Saturday you’ll be filled with joy.”

Tonya and Denise look at each other, the quiet of the hallway broken by the sound of the bell. With no time to discuss things further, Tonya replaces the items into the box they came in and places everything into her backpack. Closing her locker, the two girls make their way to their next class.

“Well,” Denise starts, “I guess it’s all over but the waiting now.”

“Yeah, I guess so. So, what are you doing this Saturday? Feel like sitting and waiting for Harvey?”

Denise gives her friend a big smile. “You don’t even have to ask, I will be there with bells on!”

xxxxx

Arnold arrives home with a skip in his step thinking that for once he will be able to pull one over on Helga with his fake list. He goes looking for her only to find her in the family room stretched out in his favorite recliner. He walks up to her, giving her a quick kiss.

“What’s up, you look exhausted.”

“What’s up? What’s up is the fact that this son of yours over here hasn’t stopped moving all day! Now that he’s crawling he’s into EVERYTHING! Not only that, he’s learned to pull himself upright and can reach everything that’s two feet or lower from the ground.”

Arnold gives her a chuckle as Phillip stands using the coffee table for support, every magazine and book that was on it carelessly thrown to the floor.

“Aw, look at him though. He looks so proud. Well, anyway, here this should cheer you up.”

“What’s this?” Helga asks as she takes the paper that he’s holding out to her.

“It’s the honey-do list you asked for this morning. I’m sorry I had to leave in such a rush earlier, but you can go over it now, and see.” He says as he points to the last item on the list. “I even added the child gates to the list.”

Helga takes the list, eyeing it suspiciously. Arnold sees her look and narrows his eyes. “What’s wrong? You did still want the list, didn’t you?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, yeah I did. Thanks.”

“Helga, what’s up? You have that look on your face.”

“What look?”

“You know what look. The look of suspicion. I can see it in your eyes.”

“Wellllll, now that you mention it……….”

He takes a deep breath, wondering what’s going on in that mind of hers now. “Yes, what is it?”

“Well, when I saw the list the other day I could have sworn it was written in black ink. This list here,” She holds it up to Arnold, “is written in blue.”

Arnold does a mental face palm as he thinks to himself, “Really, Helga, you remember the ink color?” Outwardly he says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, you must be remembering it wrong.”

“I don’t know…………”

“What? Do you think I’d make up a fake list?” He prays that he’s being convincing enough. “Look, I swear to you, this is the ONLY honey-do list I have.” “Is an omission of the truth still a lie?” He asks himself.

Thinking that there is the slightest possibility that she very well COULD be wrong, she acquiesces. “You’re right, perhaps it was blue all along.”

Relieved, Arnold turns to leave the room before Helga can say anything else. “Good, I’m going to take a shower before dinner. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Okay, take your time.” Helga says as she looks at the list one last time, also noticing that the paper she saw last Saturday was NOT pulled from a spiral bound notebook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, Helga the bloodhound, LOL.


	98. Chapter 98

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, it’s finally here. Welcome to part one of the three part Tonya/Poem Boy finale. If things seem to not make sense at first, please wait until after part 3 and hopefully any questions will be answered. As for now, please enjoy………………..

Helga paces the floor of the family room as she talks to Phoebe on her cell phone. Phillip busies himself with emptying the bottom shelf of the built-in bookcase. She flails her free hand about as she talks.

“I’m telling you, Pheebs, something’s not right here.”

Phoebe’s voice rings clear as it emits from the phone’s speaker while she does her best to hide her apprehension. 

“Now calm down, Helga and take a couple of deep breaths. You’re working yourself up over what I am sure is nothing.”

“Nothing, huh? I know when Arnoldo is hiding something, and you can mark my words, this man is hiding something big!”

Phoebe knows she has to defuse this situation and defuse it now so she does her very best to keep her voice level.

“I just don’t see it, Helga. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary from what you’ve been telling me.”

“Oh really? Well, lets’ just rehash what we know, shall we? First, I come home from my book signing to find grass between my son’s fingers and when I go to question Arnold about it he gives me some lame excuse about having a little ‘man time’ with his son.”

“Sounds reasonable. He and Phillip spent some bonding time together.”

“Yeah, along with Geraldo who, you’ll remember, became very nervous when I tried asking him what the three of them did that day.”

“I don’t know, Helga. It seems to me like you’ve got this suspicion in your head that Arnold is up to something and you’re just looking for things to back it up.”

Helga notices Phillip sucking on the spine of a particularly old book and gently takes it from him. She begins picking up the spilled books one by one as she continues to talk.

“Now why would I go and do something like that?”

“Because you’re stubborn and can’t let things go.”

“Well what about that bogus honey-do list Arnold handed me the other day, huh? It was clearly obvious that he had just made it up to placate me. Hell, the ink was even still fresh enough to smear a little.”

Seeing that she’s not getting anywhere, Phoebe decides to change tactics.

“Okay, Helga, suppose Arnold is trying to keep something from you. Who says it has to be anything bad? What if he’s trying to surprise you with something? Ever think of that?”

Helga mulls Phoebe’s words over in her mind as she places Phillip back onto the blanket she had laid out on the floor. She hands him a toy which he happily takes.

“Well, no. I guess I just jumped to the conclusion that whatever it is that’s going on must be something bad. But what could he possibly want to surprise me with?”

“Ohhh, I don’t know, Mother’s Day is coming up. Perhaps he’s planning something special, like a whole day of pampering. You know, breakfast in bed and all that.”

Helga thinks about this for a minute and figures that it’s not too far-fetched that Arnold would do something like that.”

“I never thought of that. You could be right. That would explain the list and why he didn’t want me to see it. Plus something like that does have Arnold written all over it.”

“Precisely my point, and you wouldn’t want to spoil his secret, would you?”

“No, no not after all the trouble he’s been going through to try and pull this off without me finding out.”

Phoebe lets out a sigh of relief.

“Right, just think of how disappointed he’d be if you found out what he was up to. Honestly, I think it would be best if you just let him think he’s pulled one over on you and do your best to act surprised come Mother’s Day.”

“You know Phoebe, you’re right. Why spoil the little Dweeb’s fun. Okay, I’ll back off, BUT, if Mother’s Day comes and goes and there’s no grand surprise then I pick up right where I left off and I won’t stop until I’ve broken him and have forced him to tell me what’s up.”

“I think that’s fair enough. So, are you ready for next week’s photo shoot? Do you really think Sid has a chance of winning?”

“Well, I don’t know too much about it. It’s going to be at some chapel out in the middle of nowhere. I’ve looked it up online. It looks pretty from the pictures. I’m supposed to pick up all the dresses on my way and bring them with me.”

“Oh? So what do the dresses look like?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. I haven’t seen them but supposedly some up and coming designer friend of Rhonda’s supplied them and in return they’ve requested that she let them use pictures of her in their dresses for advertisement purposes. I guess they think it’d be a boost to their business.”

“I can see that, Rhonda has made quite a name for herself so it makes sense. Free advertisement for letting her have a few of their dresses. Oh I wish I could be there, I would love to be a part of it.”

“Yeah, to be honest Phoebe, I wish you were going to be there too. I hate stuff like this and if Sid wins then our faces are going to be plastered all over that stupid magazine. Ugh, this whole thing has brought up so many ‘It Girl’ memories.”

She hears the garage door being opened and is surprised by how long they have been talking. 

“Wow, Phoebe, look at the time. Arnold’s back from the store, he just pulled into the driveway, I should get going. It was great talking to you and thanks for the advice. I think you’re right and I’ll leave Arnoldo alone – for now.”

“Yes, I do think that’s a good idea. Well say hello to Arnold for me and I want to hear everything that happened at next week’s photoshoot!”

Helga gives a little giggle, “Okay, Pheebs, I’ll be sure not to leave anything out. Bye now.”

She hangs up and looks at Phillip with a smile. He grins back up to her as he uses the coffee table to pull himself up. She starts to head towards the kitchen calling to Phillip to follow her.

“Come on, Philly Boy, lets’ go greet daddy.”

Plopping down onto his diapered bottom, Phillip is quick to crawl after his mother. Helga reaches the kitchen just as Arnold enters through the back door, arms laden with plastic grocery bags. Helga plants a kiss on his cheek as she relieves him of a couple of bags.

“Thanks for doing the shopping for me this morning, Arnoldo, I really needed to work on that magazine column.” 

“Sure, Helga, it was no problem. Did you get it done?”

She reaches into a bag and starts pulling out jars of baby food and placing them on the table. “Yep, all done and submitted.” 

Arnold takes the jars from the table and starts putting them in the cupboard. He looks at one before putting it away. “You know, you could probably make this stuff yourself. All you need to do is get a good blender that can puree the food really well.”

“Oh no, I’m not making baby food, I don’t want to poison our son!”

“You’re not going to poison Phillip. Where is he, anyway?”

Helga notices for the first time that Phillip never followed her all the way into the kitchen. “I don’t know, he was right behind me.”

Doing their best not to panic, they run out of the kitchen as they call for their son.

“Phillip! Where are you?” They yell as they each go in opposite directions.

Helga hears giggling coming from the hallway and she reaches the stairs just in time to see that Phillip has crawled more than half way up them. He has used the slats of the handrail to pull himself up and with one hand holding onto the rail, he stands teetering as he proudly smiles at her. Seeing her child wavering precariously at the edge of the step he is on she lets out a loud “PHILLIP, NO!” As she rushes up the stairs.

In the meantime Arnold scours the family room looking for his son. He is about to look behind his favorite chair when he hears Helga bellowing from the hallway. Dashing out of the family room, he reaches the staircase just in time to see Phillip take a step towards his frantic mother. Not realizing that the stairs lead downwards, Phillip starts to throw himself down to his hands and knees, the process flinging him into a forward free-fall. Its Arnold’s turn to let out with a frantic “NO!” just as Helga lunges forward, sweeping her son up into her arms. Turning her body so she doesn’t crush her child on impact, her ribs are the first thing to hit the stairs. She lets out an “OOF!” as the wind gets momentarily knocked out of her.

Phillip sits on his mother’s stomach as he grins down at his father who is rushing up the stairs towards him. Arnold grabs Phillip from a dazed Helga and gives him a quick once over to make sure he’s okay before turning his attention to his wife.

“Helga, are you okay?”

She slowly stands up, her hands hold her bruised ribs. “Yeah, I think so. At least I don’t think anything’s broken.” She gives Arnold an angry stare. “That’s it, Buck-o. I don’t care what you have planned for this weekend, you’re not doing anything until those child gates are up!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll get right on it. You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, but look at your son. His antics scared the crap out of me and he sits there laughing like it was some sort of game.”

Now that the danger is over, Arnold can’t help but to let out a little chuckle himself. “Yeah, it sure does seem like he enjoyed the little free-fall he took.”

Helga takes Phillip from Arnold, giving the boy a stern look. “Yeah, well, stop your laughing and get to installing those gates before something worse happens.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He says, still chuckling at the smile that sits on his son’s face. “Whatever you say.”

xxxxx

It’s after two in the afternoon and Harvey is late with the mail. Tonya and Denise have been hanging around on Tonya’s front stoop since eleven anxiously waiting. Every ten minutes or so Tonya gets up and scans the street in search of the elusive mailman.

“Tonya, will you sit down, you’re making me nervous.” Denise says as Tonya gets up yet again.

“I can’t help it Denise. The note said to expect the contact to be just like the last, so that means a package, right here on my doorstep, delivered by Harvey. Oh, of all days for that guy to be late with the mail!”

“Well you pacing and searching the street won’t make him come any sooner. Now sit down.”

Listening to her friend, Tonya reluctantly sits down next to her on the hard stone steps. She takes out her phone, checking the time.

“2:15, the mail never comes this late. Harvey’s always here by……….”

Before she finishes her sentence the girls hear a raspy voice that can only belong to one person.

“Good afternoon, girls.” Harvey says through a big smile.

“Harvey!” Tonya yells as she jumps up. “You finally made it.”

Harvey gives a little chuckle as he rummages through his bag. “Yeah, it’s been a long day. For some reason my load was heavier today than on normal days. So much so that I had to make a trip back to the post office to pick up the mail for the second half of my route. I hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”

“Oh, no, not at all.” Denise says as the two girls anxiously watch as Harvey pulls out a familiar brown package from his bag.”

“Looks like I have another package for you today, Tonya. So, have you suddenly started getting fan mail from some anonymous admirer?”

Tonya is caught off guard by Harvey’s question and gives an embarrassed giggle. “Wha-what? Admirer? No, nothing like that.”

“Well, okay then.” Harvey says as he hands over the package. “You girls have a good rest of your day.”

“Yeah, you too, see ya.” Tonya replies, distracted by the package in her hands. Without looking at her friend, she rushes through the front door. “Come on, I’ve got to find out what’s in this box.”

Entering her bedroom Tonya shuts the door behind them and heads straight for her bed. Unlike last time, she doesn’t bother with being careful and rips the brown wrapping off the package, finding another box. Opening it, she sees that this gift is brightly wrapped in the same paper as the last.”

“Oh I just can’t stand the suspense.” Denise blurts out upon gazing at the gift. “Hurry up and open it!”

Ripping off the colorful paper, Tonya slowly opens the box. Just like last time, she looks at its contents in confusion.

“I don’t get it.” She says as she pulls out a small, hand-held GPS device. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

Checking the box, Denise pulls out another note and reads it out loud.

“The time is now nearing, the truth will be told,  
The answers are there in the gadget you hold.  
But you must not linger and dawdle about,  
For there’s only mere hours then time will run out.

So go forth and hurry, through the city you’ll roam,  
But once at the finish you must come alone.  
That’s where you will find me, that’s where I will wait,  
For it is your answer, that will determine my fate.

The two girls look at each other before Tonya turns on the piece of electronics she holds in her hands. Once the system has fully booted up she looks at Denise. “Now what?”

“Hmmm, I’m not sure. Let me see the box.”

Tonya hands her the box where Denise finds a small slip of paper. “Look, there’s a set of coordinates. Tonya, my friend, it looks like you and I are going on a scavenger hunt.”

xxxxx

Helga holds a sleeping Phillip to her chest as she slowly rocks him. Her cheek rests on the top of his head as she gently rubs it across his soft, baby fine hair. After this morning’s phone conversation with Phoebe she now sees how foolish it was of her to even suspect that Arnold could be hiding something bad from her. She knows he would never do anything sneaky or malicious, it’s just not in him to do that. “He’s too kind of a soul for that.” She thinks to herself. “He’s too caring, too gentle, too loving, too tall, too sexy, too – too…………” Her mind starts to wander away from his softer, gentler nature, entering into his more – primal side. 

Her body starts to respond to these thoughts and she thinks it’s time to put Phillip in his crib so he can finish his nap in peace. If she’s lucky she can expect a good two hours before her son reawakens, just enough time to reconnect with her husband’s more basic instincts. She has become so lost in her thoughts that she doesn’t hear the front door being opened, nor the voice of her husband’s best friend.

She places Phillip gently in his crib, being very careful not to wake him. She’s about to head downstairs when a better idea comes to her and she turns into their bedroom. She reaches into their closet, pulling out the nurse’s uniform she’d bought the other day. She remembers the fun they had with it the night she brought it home and decides it’s time for a repeat performance. Slipping it on, she stands in front of the full length mirror and admires her reflection. The dress is tight in just the right places, with the neckline being so low cut it can hardly be called a neckline, its hem barely covering her lady parts. After slipping on the white, thigh high stockings she steps into a pair of stilettos, the heels so long and thin they could be classified as dangerous weapons. She brushes out her hair, teasing it so it stands full and tall on her head. Adjusting the starched nurse’s cap she pins it in place. Grabbing the stethoscope that came with the outfit, she hangs it from her neck and heads downstairs, the smile on her face stretching from ear to ear.

Arnold had just brought the two child gates up from the basement a moment before Gerald arrived at the boarding house. The two men now stand in the downstairs hallway making sure that they have all the necessary tools and hardware to set the gates up. They are going over the instructions when they hear Helga’s voice coming from upstairs. 

Looking up they see her approach the top of the stairs, both sets of eyes widening in shock. Still not noticing Gerald, Helga calls out to her husband.

“Hey, Dr. Shortman, this nurse isn’t feeling too well, perhaps you should take my temperature with your……………”

Finally seeing the two men as they stand staring up at her she immediately brings her hands up to her rapidly reddening face. “Gerald!” She yells as she abruptly comes to a halt.

Fully embarrassed but at the same time seeing the humor in the situation, Arnold can’t help but chuckle as he yells up to her. “Oh, uh, I guess I forgot to tell you that Gerald was coming over this afternoon to help with the gates.”

Without answering, Helga does an immediate about face, running back to their bedroom as fast as her stilettos will allow. Arnold, in the meantime, turns to his friend, his embarrassment written all over his face, and he stutters over his words. “Uh, I, uh……”

With one hand covering his face, Gerald gives his head a shake, holding up his other hand, stopping Arnold mid-stutter. “Arnold, my man,” he says hoping to avoid further conversation on the matter, “I don’t even want to know.”


	99. Chapter 99

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me, is it Jolly Olly or Jolly Ollie? I’d look it up, but I’m too lazy. (yeah, that’s right, I’m too lazy to even do a simple search XP )

Tonya stands in her bedroom staring at her friend. One hand holds the GPS device while the other plays with the key that hangs from her neck.

She talks as if she’s in a trance. “A scavenger hunt?”

“Yes,” Denise says as she grabs her friend by the shoulders, giving her a slight shake. “A scavenger hunt, so pull yourself together. The note says you only have until time runs out and considering the fact that Harvey was late with the mail time is now of the essence.”

The shake from Denise was all that Tonya needed to snap out of her stupor. “You’re right, there’s no time for us to just be standing around. We’re probably already a good two hours or so behind.”

She runs to her closet and after digging round for a moment she pulls out a small backpack. Moving to her dresser she grabs the countdown timer, noticing that there are now only nine hours left until the counter reaches zero. 

“I wonder what will happen once this counts all the way down. Do you think that if we don’t make it to where ever we’re going by midnight he’ll think I’m not interested?”

“To be honest, I don’t know.” Denise answers with a frown. 

Not wanting to think about that right now, Tonya grabs the 3D glasses and the paper with the first set of coordinates. All of a sudden a thought crosses her mind. 

“Wait a minute, this thing could take us all over the city. How are we going to make it in time if we have to rely on buses and our own two feet? Plus, we have no idea how far this could have us traveling.”

Denise gives a shrug of her shoulders. “Well, we’ll just have to drive I guess.” 

“But I only have my permit. You’ll have to do the driving. That is, if your parents will let you use their car.”

“I didn’t think about that. I’ll just have to ask them I guess, and if they say no, then all I can to is beg.”

Throwing everything she’ll need into the small backpack Tonya grabs Denise by the hand, pulling her behind her as she runs out of the bedroom. “Then that’s just what we’ll do.”

As they head towards the door Tonya finds her mom and quickly lets her know that she will be out for the night. “Hey, mom! I’m going over to Denise’s to spend the night. I’ll be back in the morning!” They are out the door before her mom has a chance to reply.

Once reaching Denise’s house, Tonya waits outside as her friend does her best to persuade her mom to let her borrow her car for the evening. After what feels like an eternity, Denise comes walking out the front door, waving a set of keys victoriously in front of her. 

“Way to go, girl!” Tonya says as they put on their seat belts. “How did you ever manage to get your mom to say yes?”

“Well, I told her we were meeting up with the gang for a girl’s night. I told her we were going to hit up the drive-in and needed a car big enough for all of us. Then I told her we might be spending the night at Gina’s, so you’d better text her and let her know we may need a cover.”

Tonya looks at her friend with a smile. “I must say, I’m impressed with your story telling skills.”

Denise gives her friend a wink. “I’ve learned from the best. So, lets’ get those first set of coordinates entered in so we know where we’re going.”

Doing as told, Tonya carefully enters the specified longitude and latitude numbers into the GPS. After giving the device a moment to work a spot shows up on a small map. There is an arrow that represents their current location with a thin blue line connecting the two locations.

“Okay,” Denise says as she starts the car’s engine, “It looks as if we need to head east.” 

“It shows the distance as five miles.” Tonya says as she studies the small map. “What’s five miles from here?”

Denise thinks about it as she pulls into traffic. “Hmmm, lots of places, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s going to probably lead us to City Park.” 

Tonya keeps her eyes glued to the small arrow as it moves about the device’s screen. “Well, we’re about to find out.”

After a five minute drive the girls arrive at City Park just as expected. Denise parks the car and the two girls get out. “It looks like we’ll have to make the rest of the trek on foot.”

They continue to follow the arrow and it eventually leads them to a secluded area of the park that leads to a small grove of trees. They look at each other before entering the grove.

“I don’t get it.” Tonya says as they look into the shaded grove. “The GPS says we’re here, but what are we looking for?”

Denise starts to walk up to a rather large tree. She squints her eyes as she looks up at the dappled sunlight that shines through the tree’s leaves. “I don’t know, it could be anything. A small container, a larger box, but you can bet that whatever it is it’s probably camouflaged to blend in with its surroundings.”

Tonya lets out a grumpy huff. “Oh great, just what we don’t have time for. This is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“Just keep your eyes peeled for something that doesn’t belong. Block out everything that’s the same and concentrate on something that’s out of the ordinary.”

Tonya gives a sarcastic chant as she searches around the trees. “One of these things is not like the others, One of these things just doesn’t belong………..”

After a few more minutes Denise lets out a yell. “Tonya! Look, I found it!”

Running up to Denise, Tonya looks to where she is pointing. There stuck in the hollow of a tree is a small, black box. The two girls look at each other before Tonya removes the box from the tree. She steadies herself, the many possibilities of what she could find run through her head. Lifting the lid of the box they peer inside to find a silver bracelet. Tonya holds it up much like when she first found the key she wears around her neck. Hanging from the bracelet is a silver charm in the shape of a pair of ice skates.

“Ice Skates?” Denise says, thoroughly perplexed.

“Yeah. I don’t get it either, but its got to mean something, right?”

“Yeah, its got to, but what?” 

“I don’t know but maybe the next clue will shed more light onto things.”

“You’re right.” Denise agrees as she picks up a small piece of paper that was sitting under the bracelet. “Look, the next set of coordinates.”

Tonya hands Denise the GPS device so she can put on the bracelet. “Here, punch in the numbers and lets’ see where it takes us.”

Doing as told, the girls wait as the device processes its next command. After a moment their next destination appears on the screen just like the first one did.

“Criminy.” Tonya exclaims, “This one’s clear across town. At this rate it’s going to take us all day.”

“Perhaps that’s the point.” Denise says as the two girls leave the shaded tree area. “Perhaps this is meant to take us up to the end of the countdown.”

Reaching the car Tonya is quick to get in. “Then we’d better not waste any time cause, remember, we got a late start.”

“Right! Now which way are we headed?”

“Hmmm, according to this you make a right and head towards the docks.”

It’s a good twenty minute drive from City Park to the docks and the girls are anxious to start their search. With it being a weekend they are lucky to find a parking spot close by and are quick to hightail it to the arcade area.

“Okay,” Denise says as she looks at the device’s screen. “The trail ends at the merry-go-round. All we need to do is buy a ticket and give it a search.”

With tickets in hand, the girls step up onto the old carousel. Slowly it begins its rotation as the various animals begin their chase to nowhere in particular. The calliope music is a bit distorted as it blares through the old speakers that have seen many a generation of visitors. Tonya stops by one of the stationery horses, its paint is chipped and faded. “This is impossible.” She thinks to herself as she lifts her eyes to the carousel’s ceiling. Her eyes shift to the dolphin in front of her as it bobs up and down. Following it on its upwards arc, she sees something taped to the bottom of its tail. It’s a small box, painted in the same gray/blue color as the dolphin and if you weren’t looking for something out of the ordinary, you would have missed it completely. She runs up to it as she yells for Denise.

“Denise, I found it, it’s over here by the dolphins!”

Her friend catches up to her just as she pulls the box from its hiding spot. They wait for the ride to stop before jumping off and running to an empty bench that faces out towards the bay. Sitting down, Tonya opens the box to find a second charm. This one in the shape of an ice cream cone. Still confused, Denise questions her friend.

“Sooo, is it making sense yet?”

Tonya gives a slow shake of her head. “No, not at all. I don’t see what these two things have in common.”

“Well, they both deal with something cold, you have ice skates and ice cream. That ring any kind of bell at all?”

Tonya racks her brain, but is unable to come up with anything that would explain the two seemingly unrelated charms. “Nope, can’t think of anything, but we’re wasting time, put in the next coordinates and lets’ get out of here.”

The third set of numbers leads them out of town completely and it’s not until they’ve been driving for over a half an hour that they realize where they are headed.

“This thing is taking us up to Hawk Mountain!” Tonya states with a building irritation. “This really IS a wild goose chase isn’t it!”

“I would say so, but lets’ keep our fingers crossed that you can start figuring things out.”

Another twenty minutes and the trail ends by the same lake that just a few months earlier, Helga and Arnold sat with their son for their first family portrait. 

Feeling a little overwhelmed, Denise voices her concerns. “I don’t know, Tonya, this is a pretty big area to have to search. How do we decide which way to go first?”

Tonya thinks about it for a moment. There’s something vaguely familiar about this spot. Looking towards the left, she spots a small boat house. The sight of it elicits a memory from her long ago. She starts taking off for the old shack, calling out for Denise to follow. 

“There’s something about this place. I’ve been here before. I used to come here as a kid. Denise, if my hunch is right, I think my suspicions are correct as to whom Poem Boy is.”

“Really! Oh Tonya, that’s wonderful, who is it?”

Tonya gives her head a shake, her stubborn heart still unwilling to accept the truth. “No, I’m not going to say who it is. Not until I see him face to face. This is now a private thing between him and me. Can you understand that, Denise?”

Her friend gives a small nod to her head. “I – I guess I can.”

Tonya gives her a warm smile. “Thanks. Now come on, we have a box to find.”

It takes a while, but eventually Denise is the one to find a small brown box, hidden within one of the old row boats. She hands it to Tonya, whose face becomes soft as her mind is cast back to her childhood. She sits on an old tree stump and begins to tell a story from her long ago past.

“When we were kids, my family used to come up here every summer for two weeks.”

“Yeah, I remember you guys always taking off right around the fourth of July. I always hated that because I’d always get so bored when you were gone.”

“Yeah, well, one thing I never told you was that every year another family was always here at the same time.”

“Oh yeah? Who were they?”

Tonya gives a little shake of her head. “That’s not important right now. What is important is that my parents always made my brother and I turn in early for the night so we’d wake up bright and early in the morning, ready for a full day of hiking or swimming, or whatever. What they didn’t know was that once everyone was asleep, I’d sneak out of the cabin and come down to the lake. That’s where he’d be waiting.” 

Tonya gives a little giggle as her memories come back to her. “Most nights we’d just hang out around the lake, talking and stargazing, but every once in a while we’d take a row boat and he would row us to the middle of the lake where we’d just sit and float. It would get so dark up here that when you looked up you could see the whole Milky Way, spread across the sky like a magic carpet. We used to imagine ourselves sitting on that carpet as it flew us through the galaxy and we would imagine if there could possibly be life outside of our own little world. It was so peaceful on the lake, the water so still, as the stars reflected off its glassy surface.”

Completely awestruck, Denise’s voice is low as she speaks. “That sounds amazing. How come you never told me about this?”

Tonya smiles off into the distance. “I don’t know, I guess I never really thought of it as anything special at the time, it was just us getting away from it all. A time where we could put our ordinary, mundane lives behind us. A time where there were no older brothers to boss us around, or over strict parents that always expected perfect grades. It was just the lake, and the stars, and our friendship.”

Tonya looks at the box in her hand and knows full well what she’s going to find when she opens it. Lifting the lid, she is happy to see that she is right. Picking up the charm, she shows it to Denise.

“It’s a rowboat! Oh Tonya, this is the most romantic thing I think I’ve ever witnessed in all my life!”

Tonya doesn’t say anything, she just smiles as she adds the small boat to the others whose meaning suddenly begins to make sense to her now. Holding the skates between her fingers, she shows them to Denise. “This charm here, if I’m not mistaken, this one represents the time when we were seven and both our parents decided we were destined to be the next Olympic gold medalists in couples skating. We were forced to endure a whole winter of ice dancing lessons. We both hated it.”

“I knew you took skating lessons, but I never knew you had a partner.”

“Yeah, that’s because he made me swear on my life that I would never tell a single soul that he and I were forced into wearing matching outfits, complete with gaudy bedazzling and everything.”

Moving on to the ice cream cones, Tonya goes into her next explanation. “This here, well the ice cream has to symbolize how, in the summer we would go around collecting empty bottles and cans in an effort to fund our Jolly Olly addictions. We would scour the city, picking up every old can or bottle we could find, then when we had enough, we’d take them over to the recycling lot and turn them in for change that we would spend on ice cream and candy from the Jolly Olly man’s truck. We’d then climb up the fire escape to the rooftop of his house and pig out.”

“Yet another little escapade that I was totally unaware of.” Denise says through slightly hurt feelings.

“Aw, Denise, I’m sorry, but, I don’t know. These were just things that we did without even giving them a second thought. It was never done to intentionally exclude anyone. It was just one of those things.”

Denise looks at her through narrowed eyes. “Just one of those things shared between two people in love perhaps?”

Tonya brushes her comment off. “Pish, no. We weren’t in love, we were just good friends.”

“Mmm-hmmm. You keep telling yourself that. Anyway, the sun is starting to set and there’s still another set of coordinates to follow. We really should get going.”

“As usual, you’re absolutely right. Come on.”

The two girls head to the car, Tonya punching in the next coordinates as they walk. This time the coordinates bring them back into Hillwood, dropping them off at the local movie house. It’s dark now, making their search even harder than before. They’re starting to wonder if they are going to have to actually buy a ticket to get into the place when Denise finds what they are looking for. 

There, sticking out from behind one of the posters advertising the next latest and greatest Evil Twin movie, is a small envelope. Removing their prize, Tonya opens it to reveal a small, silver bag of popcorn. Adding it to her bracelet, Denise punches in the next set of coordinates. The next charm they find is that of a silver daisy. Its meaning easy to explain as it is Tonya’s favorite flower. It’s the next and final charm that has Tonya perplexed. It’s just a simple silver star and she has a hard time trying to come up with a memory to pair it with.

“Perhaps it’s in reference to the stars up at the lake?” Denise asks.

“I don’t think so, I don’t think he’d reference the same memory twice. No, it’s got to be something different.”

Denise goes to retrieve the next set of coordinates when she notices another poem. “Tonya, look!”

Taking the paper from her friend, Tonya reads it out loud.

“If you’re reading this it is a good sign,  
That you’ve finally reached the end of the line.  
It is time for that key you’ve been carrying around,  
To open the doors to something profound.

So hurry my lovely for I can’t wait any longer,  
As my love for you has grown even stronger.  
With midnight approaching I urge you to try,  
And head to where scholars get lost in the sky.

At the end of the poem is one final set of coordinates. The two girls look at each other before running off, making a beeline for the car. Denise fires up the engine as Tonya punches in the numbers that will lead them to their final destination.

“’Where scholars get lost in the sky.’” Tonya reads out loud. “Get lost in the sky? What could he mean by that?”

“I’m not 100% sure, but if my hunch is correct, I believe we are headed towards the planetarium.”

“Of course! Where else would you study the sky! Oh, Denise, hurry up, it’s already 11:30.”

“I’m going as fast as I can without bringing too much attention to myself. We don’t have time to stop as I get written up for a speeding ticket you know.”

“I know, you’re right, but I just can’t wait any longer!”

After a bit they leave the main highway and head up towards the hills. Denise is correct in her assumption and soon they have entered the empty parking lot of the Hillwood Planetarium. Tonya gathers up her stuff as Denise makes a move to follow her. Tonya abruptly stops her.

“No, you can’t go any further. Remember the last note, it said that for the last part I should come alone.”

“But Tonya, what if it’s some crazy person you’re dealing with? Someone should follow behind at a distance to keep an eye on things and if anything seems out of place I can call the police.”

“No, I don’t think that will be necessary. Whether my hunch is correct or not, I’m sure they didn’t go through everything they did just to do me any harm. I’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.”

“But Tonya……………..”

“I said no! Listen, tell you what, I’ll type out a text to you to go get help and have it ready to go so if I feel something’s not right all I’ll have to do is hit the button and it will immediately go out to you. Then you can call the cops. But if I do send out the message, don’t come looking for me. Stay in the car where you’ll be safe.”

“I don’t know, Tonya, now that we’re up here in the middle of nowhere by ourselves, I’m not sure if this is such a good idea.”

“It’ll be fine. Trust me. Now, I’ve got to go.”

Without waiting any longer, Tonya gets out of the car, closing the door behind her. Rushing up to the main entrance she stands, looking at the door. Reaching into her shirt, she pulls out the key that she has been wearing since the first day she received it in the mail. With a shaking hand, she slips it into the door’s lock, giving it a twist. To her delight it catches, unlocking the door. Taking a deep breath, she steps inside.


	100. Chapter 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are the type of person that likes to have music playing when reading a chapter just to set the mood, then might I suggest you hop onto YouTube and listen to the instrumental version of Pink Floyd’s Shine On You Crazy Diamond done by a person that goes by K. Sona. That is what ran through my head as I wrote the first part of this. After that there will be a very distinct music change but that will be apparent once you reach that part. I do hope you like what you are about to read, and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please enjoy ……………

Tonya enters the darkened building, the only light is from the moon as it enters through the high windows, casting the room about her in a shrouded haze. The heavy door closes behind her and she gives her eyes a moment to adjust to the low light. She looks to the right down a long hallway. It is lined on either side by exhibits. The light from the windows casts small illuminated squares along the faux marble floor as if forming a pathway into the darkened depths of the planetarium. Every so often there are darkened spots in the walls, indicating the entrances to small exhibit rooms. Casting her gaze to the left, she is met with more of the same, making her wonder which way to go first.

Deciding that one direction is just as good as the other, she turns to her right and slowly starts to walk. Her footsteps echo off the high walls, keeping her company as she begins her search. She looks into the first of the small exhibit rooms and sees that there are scales lining three of the walls. Moving to the left, she looks at the first scale. There is a sign above it, telling her that this particular scale will show her what her weight would be if she were on the planet Mercury, the next one representing Venus and so on. She looks at the different scales and chooses Jupiter to be the one to try. Stepping up on the scale, she watches as the numbers wiz around, finally landing on a total of over 300 pounds. Her eyes grow wide as she steps down off the scale, slowly backing away from it.

Leaving the room she continues her journey. She makes a stop in each of the exhibit rooms to look for a note or some other sign that she is on the right track. She wishes that she had thought to bring a flashlight with her, but never having dreamed that she’d end up in a place like this, it just never crossed her mind. The next room she enters has glass covered display cases built into its walls. Behind the glass are various chunks of meteors and meteorites, as well as an informative poster explaining the differences between the two. There are also various sizes of moon rocks and other space debris.

After seeing all there is to see, and not finding anything of use, she leaves the room and continues on with her journey, entering room after room and always coming up empty. She finds that the first floor is set up in a circular manner and gets about three-quarters of the way around when she begins to hear some very faint music. She continues to slowly walk, listening carefully, making sure she is going in the right direction. She eventually comes up to a set of stairs. The stair case is wide, with a handrail going up the middle. They are made of the same fake marble as the floors, with the handrails being of a highly polished wood. Grabbing onto the middle handrail, she begins her ascent to the second floor.

As she reaches the next level, the music becomes louder. She tilts her head into the sound in an effort to get some sort of direction as to which way to go. Heading once again to the right she notices that this time the walls to her right have doors with labels on them signifying what the rooms are used for. The first room she comes to is labeled as Meeting Room 1. She tries the door but it is locked. She notices that the doors along the opposite wall are different. They are not your standard single entry door. These instead are large double doors, the kind you would see in a theater. She tries the set of doors closest to her but they too are locked. She’s noticed that the music is a little louder now, and continues on with her quest, trying each set of double doors along the way. 

Eventually she reaches the last set of doors, finding that she has almost come full circle. Giving the long bar that runs across the right side door a push, she finds that this time it is unlocked. She continues to push on the door, opening it slightly. The music she has been hearing becomes louder as the door opens. Taking one step inside while still holding the door open, she takes in the room. It’s dark, but she can just make out that it is a circular auditorium. There is a small center stage with some sort of large projection booth set off to the side of it. There are small windows in the walls of the booth, but it is too dark to see inside of them. 

Letting the door fall closed behind her, she walks around the small stage and turning to the rows of seats she sees that they are tiered upwards, once again as if in a movie theater. She is beginning to wonder just what to do next when she notices a very thin spotlight illuminating a single seat about half way up. She takes it that this seat is meant for her and she makes her way towards it. 

The moment she sits, the spotlight vanishes, leaving her to sit alone in the dark. She wonders if she should be starting to worry, but is surprised at how calm she is. Being almost positive as to who Poem Boy is, she doesn’t feel threatened in any way, and is, in fact, actually a bit excited to see what he has in store next. She sends Denise a quick text letting her know that so far everything is still fine and to hang tight as she doesn’t think this will take much longer. 

Xxxxxx

Against her better judgement, Denise sits in the car as she watches her best friend walk off into what could be any number of unknown horrors. Always the worrier of the group, Denise can’t help but run scenario after scenario of the possible misfortunes that could be awaiting her friend inside the dark building that looms over her. She watches as Tonya places the key inside the door’s lock and is amazed that it opens without a hitch. She finds it curious that no security alarms have been tripped and thinks that however good this Poem Boy is, he’s not, “breaking and entering into the planetarium without setting any alarms off”, good. She figures he must be getting inside help somewhere along the line with this little escapade he’s got going.

She thinks about the main – well – the only suspect in the matter as to who Poem Boy could be, and taking things into consideration on a technical level, is convinced it’s Charles. Whether or not Tonya wants to fully admit it herself. She casts her mind back to when they were kids and remembers how each summer Tonya’s family would trek off to Hawk Mountain, with her being left to endure those two long weeks without her best friend. She can’t believe that Tonya never told her about those nights at the lake, floating on the water under a blanket of stars, talking about who knows what. It’s not that she’s jealous, well, okay, maybe she’s a little jealous to be left out of such a special loop like that, and she tries to see it from their side. She keeps telling herself that those were their own special moments and that she doesn’t have to always be included in everything that goes on in Tonya’s life, does she? It also isn’t the fact that she begrudges her friend any happiness, it just would have been nice to be let in on the secret. 

She sees Tonya open the door, and becomes anxious when she disappears through it. She prays that if anything happens, her friend will have the chance to send the signal to get help. In the back of her mind she keeps telling herself that this was a bad idea. That the minute they saw how secluded their surroundings were that they should have just turned around and hightailed it out of there. But who was she kidding? There’s no way Tonya was going to let this go, and there was also no way she could say no to her friend. So there she sits now, alone in a dark parking lot. Doors locked and car windows rolled up tight.

Ten minutes pass, that quickly turn into twenty and her anxiety level is beginning to rise. She wonders just how long she’s expected to wait before allowing herself to give in to full on panic. She tries to pass the time by playing a game on her phone but keeps getting distracted by the dark building that sits staring at her. She could try going in herself and making sure everything is ok, but then if there was a crazy psychopath on the loose there’d be no one to call the police. So she just sits and waits while sending up a little prayer that all will be okay.

She continues to let her imagination run away with her when she finally gets the text she’s been waiting for. As she reads it she begins to calm down and she allows herself to relax. She goes back to thinking about how romantic this whole ordeal has been as she once again turns her attention to the game on her phone, happy to finally be a part of something that Tonya will hopefully one day be telling her grand-kids. 

xxxxx

He’s stationed himself in a little alcove on the viewing deck that sits atop the planetarium. In the middle of the deck is a domed roof that encases a large telescope that reaches into the far depths of the galaxy. The rest of the deck is open space, allowing you to walk full circle around the dome. Dotted along the walls that outline the perimeter are smaller telescopes that have enough power to pull in the moon and perhaps, when in the right alignment, Venus or even Mars. In the areas that are not blocked by trees, you can view the city of Hillwood in all its urban glory. On a clear, smog free day, you can just barely make out the ocean which shows up as a silver glow from the sun reflecting off of it. 

He checks his watch and is surprised to see how late it is. He had expected her to arrive at the planetarium no later than perhaps 9:30 and is beginning to worry. He thinks about his friend, Jeff, who will be manning the projection room tonight and hopes he won’t be too mad at how late it is getting. He met Jeff a few years back on one of his many treks to the planetarium. He’s always found this modest little observatory to be a source of refuse when things got too overwhelming at home or school. This is the kind of place that when you visit, you can’t help but to talk in hushed tones, sort of like at a museum. He finds walking among the quiet whispers of the other guests to be calming, with the observation deck being his own personal nirvana.

It was on one of these visits where he met Jeff. He had recognized the man from the various shows that were put on and had approached him, asking him question after question about how things worked in the projection booth. It didn’t take long for Jeff to take him under his wing and allow him to, on occasion, join him in the control booth. Teaching him the ins and outs of running a show. 

He’s always held an affinity for the stars, and soon the planetarium became a second home to him. He remembers a summer night on this very observation deck where it was just him and the secret love of his life. The planetarium was having a showing of their newest space show in the big auditorium and he had talked Tonya into going with him. He was in heaven as he sat reclined next to her in the theater seats. With the 3D glasses it made you feel as if you were floating in the heavens, nothing around you but the stars. Afterwards they had made their way to the very deck he is standing on now, where they stayed until way after closing just talking. And laughing. He wonders if she remembers that night, and if it holds a special place in her heart like it does for him.

Looking at his watch he notices that another fifteen minutes have gone by and he is just about to give up hope when he sees a car drive into the parking lot. He watches with bated breath for her to come out of the car, and once she does he sends Jeff a text that all is a go before making his way to the booth himself. As he enters the booth he thanks his friend once again for the inside help, stating that he truly owes him big time. Jeff just laughs and says he can pay him back by inviting him to their wedding. All he can do in return is look at Jeff and be thankful that the room is dark, making it impossible for his friend to see his reddened cheeks.

After giving Tonya enough time to enter the building and start her exploration, his friend turns on the music, sending it out through speakers that are dotted about the building’s interior. With sweaty palms, he nervously watches out of one of the booth’s small windows, waiting for Tonya to arrive. He watches as the door to the auditorium finally opens, his heart quickening at the sight of his love. Flipping a small switch, he turns on the spotlight, illuminating the spot where she is to sit. Once she’s taken a seat the two friends look at each other, giving each other a thumbs up. Holding his breath, he watches as Jeff does his magic, turning the inside of the auditorium into deep space.

xxxxx

She returns her phone to the pocket of her jeans and sits in the darkened room, listening to the music when, without warning, the auditorium seats begin to recline. After a moment she finds herself reclined back just enough to afford her a comfortable position for gazing at the ceiling above her. She notices a small spot of light in the very center of the domed ceiling which begins to widen until eventually the whole thing is covered in a beautiful blue sky that is dotted here and there with fluffy white clouds. She watches as the clouds lazily drift across the sky, changing shape as they go. After a bit the blue begins to fade as it is taken over by an orange glow, not unlike a sunset over the ocean. The orange slowly fades to light pinks and purples as the sun continues to set until she eventually finds herself looking at the night sky. As she lets the almost mystic quality of the music lull her, she spots the first star of the night and makes a quick wish. One by one the sky begins to fill with stars of various brightness. The images become blurred and she remembers the 3D glasses that are in her backpack and puts them on. The minute they reach her face she finds herself surrounded by thousands of stars that seem to hang in the air around her. By pure reflex, she reaches out in an effort to touch one only to find empty air. The stars begin to move past her as if she is passing them by as she travels through space. She finds herself flying deeper and deeper into the cosmos, the sky getting blacker as she goes. She begins to notice the bright colors of various nebulas and swirling galaxies off in the vast distance that surrounds her. 

Casting her gaze forward once again she sees a bright strip of white light, recognizing it at once as the Milky Way. She approaches it at a great speed, the stars that surround her zooming by. She grips the armrests of her seat as she nears the strip of light. Without slowing down she is propelled into the light. As she hits the glowing wall it explodes around her, showering her in what looks like diamonds against the velvety black background. 

Once she has passed through the Milky Way the music changes to that of something more familiar to her. She listens as the voice of Bruno Mars hits her ears. She smiles as he starts to sing “Just the Way You Are”, causing her to laugh at a memory. It was the year the song came out and she remembers proclaiming it the best love song of all time and spent the next three weeks singing it over and over. She remembers Poem Boy teasing her relentlessly over it, calling it the cheesiest thing he’s ever heard but none the less humming it to himself when he didn’t think anyone was around. 

As the song plays the stars in front of her begin to swirl faster and faster, until eventually forming into an image of her face. Her breath catches in her chest as she sees herself staring back. The image hangs there for a moment before gradually fading away, being replaced once again by a menagerie of stars. 

She continues deeper into space and the nebulas grow in size, their colors brighter than before as they swirl about. Eventually new images begin to come into view. Instead of stars, these are 3D images of her from their childhood. Now it is as if she is looking through a stereoscope and witnessing images of her past, of their past. 

All doubt is finally cast away as she sees picture after picture of the two of them. There is one that was taken at her fifth birthday party. She sits smiling over to him as he hands her a gift, a smile of his own filling his face. The pictures skip ahead a few years to a fourth grade field trip to the aquarium. There they stand together in front of the shark exhibit, feigning fright as a shark swims by the glass wall of the tank. Moving ahead a few more years there is a picture of her sitting by a campfire during one of their family’s summer trips. She is serene as the fire casts its orange glow on her face, softening her features, its light shining off her hair as it surrounds her face. As the song begins its ending fade the final picture comes into view. It starts off small and she can’t quite make out what it is of. Eventually it becomes large enough for her to see that it is their fifth grade class picture. The children stand on a set of small risers, enabling each row of kids to be visible for the camera. She stands in the middle of the first row while he stands one tier up behind her. She smiles at each face as they smile back to her. It’s not until she focuses in on his face when she sees something that she’s never noticed before. Instead of him staring into the camera, it is her that he looks at as she stares forward, completely oblivious of his gaze. 

As the song ends, the image grows close enough for her to see the full expression on his face. It is one of tenderness and longing as he looks at the one he loves, and it is at this moment that she finally realizes the depths of his feelings for her. She sits looking at his face, her own heart beginning to awaken to feelings that have been locked inside her, patiently waiting for their chance to be set free. A tear escapes her and it shines in the dim light as it leaves its wet trail down her cheek. She is suddenly filled with the need to see him. To be near him and tell him what he’s been waiting to hear.

She is forced from her thoughts when all of a sudden the music stops and the room once again grows dark. The rows of seats slowly return to their upright position, causing her to focus her gaze to the small stage below her. Taking off her glasses she watches as a spotlight zeros in on an image that stands in the middle of the stage. It is him. After all this time of waiting and wondering she finally can say, it is him.

She stands on wobbly legs and makes her way to the center aisle where the stairs are that lead down to the ground floor and to the stage. She watches as he leaves the circle of light to meet her half way. He holds a small bouquet of daisies as he walks up the steps of the center aisle. They stop with him on the lower step and her on the upper one and she gazes down into his eyes.

She takes one step down so they are on equal ground now and gazes up at him. Her eyes not leaving his she whispers softly, “It’s you. It’s always been you.”

Charles smiles as he reaches out, his fingers brushing her hair behind one ear before gently trailing down her cheek. “Yeah,” he whispers back, “It’s me.”

His finger hooks beneath her chin now as he slowly lifts it, tilting her face up to his. Leaning down he softly places his lips to hers, letting out a sigh of relief when he feels her kiss him back.

They break the kiss and just take a moment to gaze into each other’s eyes. Finally Charles says the words he’s spent most of his life longing to say. “Tonya, I know I’m not much to look at, and I’m not very graced in the social skills as most, but I have spent most of my life hopelessly in love with you and it would make me the happiest guy alive just to hear you say you feel the same towards me.”

She doesn’t say anything at first, which starts to worry Charles, but eventually she finds her voice. “Oh, Charles. I have spent my life so engrossed in my own petty feelings that its blinded me to what has been staring me right in the face. For so long I have searched for that one true love to call my own, never realizing that it’s been here all along. Tonight you’ve made me realize that you and I are more than just friends. You’ve made me realize that it’s you. It always has been you and it always will be. Yes, Charles, I love you too. I really, truly love you.”

With relief running through him he reaches out and gathers Tonya up into a huge bear hug. This time there is no trepidation as he kisses her, causing a welcomed peace to wash over him. They break the kiss and he realizes that there’s still one more thing he needs to do. So handing her the bouquet of daisies he says “Tonya, it would be my honor if you would agree to be my date to prom.”

She looks at him, her eyes growing wide in shock and she can’t hold back the laughter in her voice. “What? YOU, are asking me to prom? You, Mr. ‘I hate anything to do with school activities’ is interested in going to prom?”

He laughs back, fully aware of the irony of what he is asking. “Well, that’s because I never had a reason to care about school activities before.”

Taking the flowers from him she kisses his cheek. “Charles, I would love nothing more than to be your date to prom. Oh, that reminds me!” She hastily reaches into her pocket pulling out her phone. “I told Denise I’d text her once I found out what was up.”

She sends out her text, letting her friend know that Poem Boy is indeed Charles and that all is okay. After making sure that Charles is able to take her home, she tells Denise to go on home and she’ll explain things in the morning.”

Turning back to Charles the enormity of what he pulled off finally hits her. “How on earth did you even pull this off? You had to have help, right?”

“Oh, yes.” Charles says. “I had the help of my buddy Jeff.” Yelling out into the darkness he calls out to Jeff. “Isn’t that right, Jeff old boy?”

Jeff responds with a flashing of the lights, causing the couple to let out a laugh. “Speaking of Jeff, we really should let him lock up so he can finally go home. We didn’t expect this to go so late. We thought you be here hours ago.”

Tonya rolls her eyes. “Oh, well, that’s a story in itself. I’ll tell you all about it on our way home.”

Taking Tonya by the hand, Charles leads her towards the stage. “Come on, I want you to meet Jeff before we go, I think you’ll like him.”

Without waiting for an answer Tonya finds herself being pulled behind Charles. Once inside the booth Jeff tells her how he’s happy to finally meet the girl that Charles has been obsessing over for so long, causing a blush to form on hers, as well as Charles’ cheeks. After another couple of minutes they say their good-byes and leave Jeff to lock up.

The ride back to town is subdued, both kids letting the night sink in. When they reach Tonya’s house it is with heavy heart that Charles must say his good-byes. He kisses her good night, neither one wanting the kiss to end, but eventually they must come up for air.

“I’ll text you in the morning.” He says before placing a kiss on her forehead.

She smiles up at him. “Okay, I’ll be waiting.”

Disappearing into her house, she hears her father’s voice as it comes from the living room. “Tonya? Is that you? I thought you were spending the night at Denise’s house.”

She passes by the living room and without stopping she dreamily says, “Oh, I was, but something unexpected came up and I changed my mind.”

“Oh? Well, as long as everything’s okay.”

With a smile Tonya looks at the daisies she’s holding and with a slight sigh she answers back. “Things couldn’t be better.”


	101. Chapter 101

Arnold nervously paces the downstairs hallway while keeping one eye on Phillip. He checks his watch for the tenth time, wondering what can be taking Helga so long. Standing at the bottom of the staircase, he yells up to his wife.

“Helga! What’s taking you? It’s almost time for you to leave and you still have to pick up all the dresses.”

He hears her voice as it bellows from above. “Keep your shirt on, I’m almost ready. Criminy, you act as if it’s you that’s doing the photo shoot.”

“I just don’t think it’s fair of you to keep everyone else waiting!”

After another five minutes of pacing, Arnold finally hears Helga’s footsteps as she comes rushing down the stairs. “It’s about time.” He says, trying hard to hide the anxiety in his voice.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m ready. Now I don’t know how long I’m going to be gone, it could take all day and it’s a long drive home. I may not be back until tonight. If you need any help with Phillip you know you can always call my folks or Olga.”

“Don’t you worry about me, I can handle things here. You just get on over to that dress shop before you end up being late. You sure you have everything you’ll be needing?”

“Yep, Princess is providing everything for our hair and make-up, so I have nothing to worry about except the dresses. Oh, and my shoes! I almost forgot my shoes. Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

Helga disappears upstairs once again, leaving Arnold to check his watch as he shakes his head. “I don’t believe this.” He says as he gives his eyes a roll towards the ceiling.

Finally, with shoe box in tow, Helga sits in her Subaru ready to go. Arnold leans through the window to give her a good-bye kiss. “Text me throughout the day and let me know how things are going.” He says as he holds Phillip up so Helga can give him a good-bye kiss too.

“Okay, and good luck with this one here. Don’t let him wear you down too badly.”

Knowing that in just about 30 minutes Phillip will be in the hands of his Grandma Mimi, Arnold brushes off her comment. “Aww, it’ll be a piece of cake. Good luck today, and drive safely, it’s a long haul out to that chapel.”

“Oh?” Helga says, giving him a raise of an eyebrow. “And just how do you know that?”

“Um, because I looked it up online?”

“Whatever, you just take good care of my son. I love you.”

“Love you too.” 

He stands in the driveway and watches as her car disappears around the corner. With her still having to stop at the dress shop, and wanting her to have a good head start, he figures he has at least an hour before he needs to be on the road himself. Heading back into the boarding house, he starts putting together everything he and Phillip will need for the day, as well as packing an overnight bag for himself and Helga. He’s decided to take Gordon up on the offer of the little mountain cottage, thinking that it will be a romantic ending to a, hopefully, perfect night.

Once organized, he gives Gerald a call letting him know he’s ready to be picked up. He finishes gathering the things he will be needing for the day as he talks to his friend.

“Yeah, I didn’t think she was ever going to get out of here. I’ve just about got everything ready to go. You’ve got my tux, right?”

“Yep,” Gerald says as he makes a mental checklist of his own. “I’ve got both tuxes as well as the shoes. Everything else is getting delivered to the chapel, right?”

“Yeah, but nothing is supposed to start arriving until well after Helga is secluded away in Gordon’s house with the other girls. All we need to do is drop Phillip off with his grandparents and they’ll bring him along when they come.”

“I know you and I will be getting there early, but when is everyone else arriving?”

“Well, all the guests are supposed to start arriving at around five with the ceremony starting at around six/six-thirty. The caterer will be there at around one, Mrs. Vitello soon after to do the flowers and then Rusty will be the last one there to set up the cake. I told Stinky and Harold to meet us there no later than 4:30 so they can start seating guests”

You know, you’re lucky Patty hasn’t had that baby yet or Harold may not have been able to make it. Now we just need to hope that she doesn’t go into labor at the ceremony.”

“Oh, geeze Gerald, don’t jinx it.”

“Speaking of jinxes, Eugene’s coming, right?”

“He’s supposed to, at least his R.S.V.P. said that he was. Why?”

“I was just thinking, if he makes it, you’d better make sure to keep him as far away from that cake as possible.”

“Very funny, Gerald. I keep telling you, the guy’s not a jinx. He’s just – accident prone.”

“Whatever you say, Arnold. Well, I’d better get going, I’ll be by to pick you up in about twenty minutes.”

Hanging up, Arnold can’t help but to feel thankful for being lucky enough to have a friend like Gerald. The guy really has gone out of his way to help him with this whole ordeal, even having to suffer under the scrutiny of Helga’s glare. He really owes Gerald big time and will have to come up with a way to show his appreciation. For now, though, he must bring his mind back to the task at hand and he goes back to taking inventory of everything that must go with him to the chapel.

xxxxx

Helga arrives at the dress shop just a tad behind schedule and doesn’t waste any time as she briskly walks into the little shop. She scans the sales floor looking for Cheryl and gives her a wave when she finally spots her. 

Cheryl greets Helga with a bright smile and a hug. “Mrs. Shortman, we’ve been waiting for you.”

A bit embarrassed, Helga gives her right arm a rub as she speaks. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that, I’m not really known for my timeliness.”

“Well, you’re here now and that’s what matters. If you’ll come with me, I’ll get those dresses you’ve come for.”

The two ladies make their way to the sales counter where Helga sees not only the bags holding the bridesmaid’s dresses, but one large white bag as well.

“I didn’t know I was bringing the bridal gown too. I thought Rhonda would have picked that one out herself.”

“Oh, well, it was actually a Mr. Gifaldi who picked out the dress. He said it had a certain ‘look’ he wanted for taking pictures, if that makes any sense.”

Helga shakes her head knowingly. “Yeah, it does actually. Sid is the photographer in charge of this shoot. I just hope he picked out a nice dress or Rhonda is going to have a fit.”

Cheryl gives Helga a sly smile. “Oh, I think everyone will be quite pleased with this dress.”

“Oh well, it’s too late now anyway. So I assume everything’s been paid for?”

“Yes, all we need to do is to get these dresses loaded up and you can be on your way, so if you’ll pull your car around back, we can get that done.”

Giving Cheryl a little salute, Helga does as she’s told and pulls her car up to the loading dock that sits in back of the store. After a few minutes of carefully laying the dresses out in the back of the Subaru Helga is finally on her way.

Helga scans the radio stations looking for something to listen to before she heads out of radio range and has to resort to CD’s. Without really thinking she settles on MJZZ. It’s not until after the third song that she has to laugh at herself. With a smile she says to no one in particular, “Wow Football Head, you’ve rubbed off on me more than I’ve realized.” She does have to admit that the music has a definite calming effect and wonders if that’s how Arnold’s kept his overall subdued nature all these years. 

The more she thinks about her husband, the more she starts to miss him. She really wishes she didn’t have to spend her day standing around at some dumb photo shoot when she could be spending quality time with Arnold and Phillip instead. She smiles as she thinks of Phillip, and wonders what hoops he’s going to be making his father jump through today. Arnold hasn’t had the opportunity to watch Phillip on his own yet since the boy has started crawling and pulling himself up. He’s even begun to climb onto things and she’s never told Arnold about the time she caught him hanging over the back of the couch. She swears that that child is part monkey, causing a small part of her to chuckle over the time she was kissed by the organ grinder’s monkey and she thought she was going to die of Monkeynucleosis. Her mind further wanders to the thought of Phillip picking up some latent monkey genes that have been hiding inside of her, making him a real live Monkeyman, She also wonders just what Hillwood would do with TWO Monkeymen. 

She gets so carried away with her pondering that she almost misses the turnoff to the country road that will lead her to the chapel. If it wasn’t for the map on her phone yelling at her to turn right she’d have passed it up completely. Bringing her thoughts back to the present, she makes the turn, then settles in for the second half of the journey. She wonders what Arnold is up to as the radio starts to lose reception, forcing her to switch over to a CD. She’s caught off guard when The Wiggles start bellowing from the speakers and realizes that the only CD’s she currently has on her are Phillip’s. Figuring The Wiggles to be better than nothing, she happily belts out the next chorus of Hot Potato as she continues on her way. 

It’s a long drive, but she finally comes up to the little stone chapel. She drives past it slowly as she gazes out the passenger window. The pictures online don’t do the small building justice and she thinks it to be absolutely beautiful, just the type of place she would have loved to have gotten married in if circumstances back then had been different. The map on her phone encourages her to keep going and it’s not too long afterwards that she comes across Gordon’s house. She sees Sid’s SUV as well as a few other cars parked outside of it and pulls over to park. She walks up to the house and thinks to herself, “well, here goes nothing,” as she knocks on the front door.

She hears voices on the other side and is about to knock again when the door opens and she finds herself standing face to face with Rhonda. Seeing the woman of the hour, Rhonda smiles widely as she brings Helga in for a hug. 

“Helga, darling, you’ve made it!” She says as she pulls her into the room, closing the door behind them.

xxxxx

Arnold stands in the entryway of Helga’s parent’s house as he makes sure they have everything they will be needing for the ceremony. Phillip sits happily on his Grandma Mimi’s hip as he plays with her necklace. 

“So we’re to meet you at the place by 4:30 dressed and ready to go, right?” Bob asks one last time.

“That’s right, but if you want to get dressed there, just arrive a little early, there’s a room for the guys to get dressed in. Phillip’s outfit is in the diaper bag but I’d wait until just before the ceremony is about to start before putting him in it. I’d hate for him to have a diaper blow out and ruin it before Helga has a chance to see him.”

Miriam gently removes her necklace from Phillip’s grasp as she talks to Arnold. “I take it Olga will be arriving with the caterers then?”

“Yeah, she said she and Samuel want to be there to make sure everything gets set up correctly. Okay, I really should get going, Gerald is waiting in the car.” He leans in to give Phillip a good-bye kiss. “Thanks for taking care of Phillip for me, this really helps me out.”

“Oh we just love watching this little fellow, you know that.” Miriam says as she gives her grandson a huge kiss on the cheek, eliciting a small giggle from the child.

“Alright then, I’m off. I’ll see you this afternoon. Call me if you get lost or need anything.”

Running out the door, Arnold quickly rejoins Gerald in the car. With Phillip taken care of the two men are finally able to head out to the chapel. Arnold nervously looks out the window as Gerald drives, his left leg bobbing up and down at a rapid pace.”

“Man, Arnold, you need to calm down. You’re making ME nervous.”

“I’m sorry, Gerald, I just can’t help it. So I assume Phoebe got in okay last night?”

“Yep, since Nadine was driving up by herself she offered to pick Phoebe up on her way and she dropped her off at her parent’s house last night. The two of them are driving up to the place together, then Phoebe will be staying at my apartment for the rest of her break.”

“You know, Ger, I really do appreciate the two of you changing your plans like this just to help me out. I owe you guys’ big time.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it, that’s what friends are for. Besides, it’s the least I could do what with how you stood by me even after how badly I screwed up with that whole Amanda thing. Only a true friend would do that.”

“That’s the thing, Gerald. You and me, we’re more than just friends. I think of you more as a brother than a friend. You’re like family to me.”

Gerald can’t help but to smile at his friend’s words. “Yeah, I know what you mean. There were times when we were growing up that I thought of you more as a brother to me than Jamie-O.”

“Heh, yeah. When I think of some of the stuff he used to do to you. It always got me so mad how he’d just take your stuff and claim it as his. Or use his size against you to push you around.”

“Yeah, until the day I finally got big enough to push back. I think that’s when we started getting along better, once he realized that I wasn’t a shrimpy little kid anymore.”

They spend the next hour and a half reminiscing over old times, both good and bad, until they finally reach the little chapel. The caterers have already arrived and he recognizes Samuel as he stands outside the church directing them where to go.

As Arnold gets out of the car Samuel steps up to greet him.

“Arnold old boy, so good to see you. So, are you ready for your big day?”

Arnold smiles as he shakes Samuel’s hand. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be I guess. I assume Olga’s around here somewhere?”

“Oh yes, she’s around back overseeing the placement of the tables and such.”

“Okay, I guess I should find Gordon first though, then check on things out back afterwards. I’ll catch you later Samuel.”

As Arnold enters the chapel he runs into Sid who is taking pictures of the stained glass windows that line the wall. Seeing the nervous groom, Sid gives him a smile. 

“Boy howdy, Arnold, I’ve never seen stained glass like this. These windows are amazing, especially with the afternoon light shining through them.”

“Yeah, they were one of the things that caught my eye when I first visited this place. They really are something.”

“How did you even find this little gem of a chapel?”

“It just popped up when I was searching venues. I would have never even known it was here otherwise. So, I assume you’ve checked on the girls?”

“Yep, Rhonda’s got them all whipped into shape, doing as told. Even Helga’s following directions without any fuss.”

“Good. Phoebe’s not in there with them, is she?”

“Naw, she’s out back with Olga while she waits for her turn to get her make-up and stuff done.”

“Okay, good. We really can’t have Helga seeing her before the ceremony. Gerald either since he’s supposed to be in California right now visiting her.”

“I have to say, Arnold, I really had my doubts that you were going to be able to pull this whole thing off. But unless Helga comes running out of the house for whatever reason, I think you’ve done it. You’ve actually pulled one over on Helga.”

“Yeah, well I’m not counting my chickens before they’re hatched. I won’t relax until everyone’s in place and she steps through those doors. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m looking for Gordon. Have you seen him?”

“Yeah, he’s in his office.” Sid yells over his shoulder as he goes back to photographing the windows.

Hearing a knock on his office door, Gordon puts down the letter he was reading. “Door’s open.” He says, and smiles when he sees Arnold. “Well, welcome my boy, come on in and have a seat.”

“Thank you.” Arnold says as he sits in the chair opposite of Gordon. “I just wanted to make sure everything is good on your end.”

“Yep, we’re good to go. The girls are secluded away at our house, the cottage out back is set up and ready for the two of you. If you have any bags or anything you want put in there for tonight just let me or my wife know and we’ll take care of it.” Gordon can see the anxiety on Arnold’s face. “So how are you holding up? Your nerves got the best of you yet?”

“To be honest, I think I’m more nervous for the vow renewal than I was for our actual wedding. Well, not that it could really be called an actual wedding.”

“You know, this really is an amazing thing you’re doing for your wife. She’s pretty blessed to have someone who loves her as much as you do.”

Arnold takes a moment to think about Helga, then looks at Gordon, his eyes almost pleading for understanding. “No, I’m actually the lucky one. Helga’s a strong, amazing woman, with the talent and smarts to do or be anything she wants, and what does she choose? She chooses to be with me, despite the fact that I have nothing but myself to give. I mean, what do I have to offer her? A rundown boarding house in the middle of some Podunk city. Debt from my college bills that we’re STILL trying to pay down. An old hand me down car that I should get rid of but because of sentimental reasons, I just can’t.” A small smile plays about Arnold’s face now. “Heh, and do you know what the funny part is? She still looks at me as if I were some heavenly gift from above. She tells me that SHE’S the lucky one if you can believe that.”

Arnold stops talking, feeling as if he’s said too much. He looks down at his hands which sit folded in his lap, his cheeks colored in a blush. Gordon sits quietly for a moment, the look on his face is soft. When he finally speaks the words are kind and filled with the knowledge of someone who’s seen it all when it comes to relationships. 

“Let me tell you something, son, you may feel inadequate in terms of what you have to offer the woman that you love, but don’t you see? You are giving her exactly what she wants. You are giving her unconditional love, and fidelity. You are giving her the security in knowing that you will always be there for her no matter what. You give her respect and you put her needs before your own. These are the things that make a relationship. Not fancy houses or expensive cars. You don’t need to live in some exclusive neighborhood where the homes may look nice on the outside, but are lacking what’s important on the inside. I’ve dealt with hundreds of couples over the years, and I can pretty much tell which are going to make it and go the distance, and which are doomed to fail.” Gordon leans forward in his chair now, pointing a finger at Arnold’s face. “And I can tell you this. After meeting you, and after having a little chat with that spitfire of a woman you have getting ready in that house up the street, I know for a fact that you two are in it for the long haul.”

Gordon’s words reach deep into Arnold’s soul, tempering any feelings of inadequacy he had been feeling. The corners of his mouth turn up into a smile as Gordon finishes what he has to say.

“So, no more talk about who’s the lucky one and who’s undeserving of what, because in this relationship you’re both pretty darn lucky that you have each other. Understand?”

“Yeah, Gordon, I think I do. Thank you, I didn’t realize just how much I really needed to hear that.”

Gordon smiles as he stands and walking over to Arnold pats him on the back as they leave his office. “Not at all my boy, that’s what I’m here for. Now, how about we check out the reception area and see if it’s up to your liking, shall we?”

xxxxx

Helga sits with portions of her hair wrapped up in foils as she waits for her turn to have the highlight crème washed out. She munches on some finger sandwiches that were included with the array of food that Rhonda made sure was available for the girls. Nadine sits across from her as she dips a mini carrot into some ranch dip. The two girls chat idly amidst the chaos that’s going on around them.

“I can’t believe you drove up all the way from California for this shoot, Nadine.”

“Yeah, well, it’s hard to say no to Rhonda when she’s got her mind set on something. It was time for me to make a trip up to Hillwood anyway. I haven’t been back since yours and Arnold’s wedding. I’ve kind of missed the old neighborhood.”

“I can imagine. I didn’t realize how much the place meant to me until Arnold and I returned after college. The old neighborhood really gets under your skin, ya know?”

“I do get it. There’s something about the place. I’m just glad that even though they’ve been refurbishing a lot of the downtown area, the neighborhoods are staying pretty much the same.”

“Yeah, I’m excited for Phillip to grow up here and experience the same things Arnold and I did growing up.”

They look up when Helga hears her name being called. “I guess that’s my signal to get this goop washed out of my hair. I was nice chatting with you, Nadine. Hopefully we can get together before you head back down to California.”

Nadine is all smiles as she looks at her friend. “I’d love that, Helga.”

Making her way to the kitchen, Helga sits in the chair that has been set up by the sink. As she leans back to have her hair washed out she catches Rhonda’s eye.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into highlighting my hair.”

“Now, Helga, it’s the little things like this that make the picture. You want things to be perfect for Sid, don’t you?”

Knowing better than to argue with Rhonda, Helga agrees. “Yes, as usual you’re right. But I don’t see what it’s going to matter if our hair is going to be put in an updo.”

“The sides will still show, as well as the curls on top of your head. Now after your hair is done it will be your turn for make-up, then we’ll be ready for the dresses. I’m so excited to try on that wedding dress!”

“I just hope they fit. None of us have had a chance to try anything on.”

“I swear, Arnold has really rubbed off on you. Stop worrying. They were given everyone’s measurements, everything will be fine. Now, I must go see how Lila’s coming along. Ta-ta Helga dear.”

Helga gives Rhonda a mimicking wave of her hand. “Ta-ta, Rhonda, darrrrling.”

xxxxx

The afternoon quickly slips by as people rush to get the little chapel ready for this evening’s ceremony. Arnold’s nerves have started to go into overdrive again as he does his best to oversee everything. He takes a moment to rest at one of the tables as he watches a small dance floor and stage being set up. He really wanted to go check out the little cottage that sits around back of the reception area, but Gordon insisted that he not see it for the first time until he and Helga are together. So now he just sits, his fingers playing with one of Mrs. Vitello’s centerpieces. He looks at the light pink roses and delicate baby’s breath and is amazed at how pretty they are. As a matter of fact, everything is coming together and looks so nice. He can just picture how the china and crystal place settings are going to sparkle under the tiny lights that hang over the area. He notices Rusty as he wheels in a cart with the various pieces that will make their wedding cake. Getting up, he walks over to greet him.

Arnold walks up to Rusty and offers him his hand. “Rusty, right on time. I hope the table we have set up for you will suit your needs.”

“Arnold, good to see you again. The cake’s not too large, and the decorations you wanted are pretty minimal, so I’m sure that whatever you have will be just fine.”

Arnold walks Rusty over to where the cake will be and leaves the man to do his job. Then once the cake is ready, Mrs. Vitello will do her magic with the flowers.

Taking a deep breath in, he can smell the food as it begins to cook. It smells delicious and is making him hungry. Not having taken the time to stop for lunch, he starts to make his way to see if he could sneak a quick bite when he sees Harold and Patty walking towards him.

“Hey, Arnold.” Harold says as he gives the air a sniff. “Oh, man, the food is already starting to smell delicious. I can’t wait to dig in.”

Patty gives her husband a shake of her head. “Really, Harold, that’s all you ever think about is food.”

Patting his wife on her protruding stomach, he gives her a bit of a leer. “That’s not allll I think about.”

Totally embarrassing his wife, she heads off to talk to Phoebe, leaving the guys alone to do their thing.

“Well, Arnold, it’s almost time. Is there a place for us to change into our tuxes?”

Arnold looks at his watch. “Oh, wow, is it that time already? Yeah, I guess it is. Let me get the other guys and we can all go get ready.

xxxxx

The girls have finished with their hair and make-up and take a moment to let their freshly painted nails dry. Helga continues to partake in the food that has been supplied and is about ready to take a bite out of a ranch dipped carrot when she hears Rhonda yelling her name.

“Helga! What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m eating, doi.”

“No more eating, you’re going to smear your lipstick. Now put that carrot down this instant. Besides, you’ve had enough food for two people already. I swear, I don’t know how you keep your figure with that appetite of yours.”

“Hey, I have a rug rat that is now mobile and it takes all the fuel I can get just to keep up with him.”

“Well, no more food until after the shoot. Speaking of which, I think it’s time we start getting dressed.”

“It’s about time.” Helga says as she gets up and finds the dress with her name on it.

There’s a moment of organized chaos as the girls remove the dresses from their bags and put them on. Everything is going fine until Helga tries on hers. It’s about three sizes too small and she is having trouble getting it over her curvy bottom.

“Criminy, I think I have someone else’s dress. I can’t even squeeze into this. Hey, Lila, how’s your dress fitting?”

Walking over to Helga, Lila shows her that her dress fits just fine. The same thing with Nadine. It’s not until they hear Rhonda give a shout when they discover the problem.

“Ugh! Will you just look at this dress!” Rhonda yells as she does her best to keep the white gown from falling off of her. “This dress is positively huge on me!”

“Gee, Rhonda,” Lila says doing her best to hide her smile. “I’m oh so certain that yours and Helga’s sizes have been mixed up.”

“Oh this is just awful!” Rhonda laments. “And I didn’t even think to bring a seamstress along with me.” She turns to look at Helga. “I’m afraid that we are just going to have to switch dresses, Helga.”

“What? Oh no, nuh-uh! It’s one thing posing in the background as one of the bridesmaids, there’s no way I’m going to be front and center as the bride. No way, no how!”

“But Helga, think of Sid.” Nadine pipes in. “He’s counting on us. Without a bride there’s no way he’ll be able to have anything to submit to the contest.”

“I’m oh so certain Nadine is right, Helga. We have to do what we can to help him. We’re all in this together.”

Helga brings her hand up to her face and bows her head. “I can’t believe I’m going to be playing the bride. Sid damn well better appreciate this!”

Relieved, Rhonda quickly slips off the wedding dress and offers to help Helga into it. It’s not until she has it on and looks at herself in the mirror when she notices just exactly which dress Sid had picked out. 

Looking at her expression Rhonda gives Helga a concerned look. “I-is there something wrong, Helga?”

“No, it’s just strange that this is the exact dress that I tried on when I went dress shopping with Phoebe. That’s quite a coincidence, don’t you think?”

“Oh, well, uh coincidences do happen you know.”

“Yes, I guess they do. But I also can’t help but to be amazed at just how good the fit is. Almost as if they knew all the right places to take it in.”

“Well that just proves that they’re good at what they do. Now really, Helga, we don’t have time for you to be standing there admiring yourself in the mirror. We need to get that veil on you so we can all go over to the chapel and get this shoot over with.”

“Hmmf, I was hardly admiring myself, but okay. Help me with this veil before I change my mind.”

xxxxx

Arnold stands in front of a full-length mirror as he fumbles with his bow tie. He’s so nervous that he can’t seem to get his fingers to do what he wants them to do. Seeing his struggle, Gerald goes over to him, taking the matter into his own hands.

“Arnold, I’m going to tell you again, you’ve got to calm down before you give yourself a heart attack.”

“I know, Gerald, but I can’t help it. I’m so nervous. What if something goes wrong?”

“What could possibly go wrong? We’re almost in the home stretch. The guests are going to start arriving at any minute, the girls are just about ready. The place is decorated, the food’s ready, the cake looks awesome. I’m telling you, nothing’s going to go wrong.”

“Yeah, but what if Helga gets to the chapel and sees all the people and freezes up? You know how she hates having any kind of attention brought to her. What if she refuses to walk down the aisle? What if this all pisses her off and she gets mad? What if…………”

“Arnold! Stop with all the “what if’s”. None of that is going to happen. She’s going to be so blown away by what you’ve done there’s no way she’ll back out. I never told you this, but I had a long talk with Phoebe a while back and asked her basically the same things and she told me a story about when she and Helga were kids and how Helga would always fantasize about being a bride and wearing a long, white gown. This is her dream. I tell ya, she’s going to love it, I promise. Now, get your shit together and lets’ do this.”

Arnold goes to give Gerald their signature handshake, but at the last minute he changes his mind and pulls his friend into a hug. “Thanks, once again you’re completely right. Thanks for keeping me sane. I don’t know what I’d do without you backing me up.”

Their little moment is interrupted as the voice of Big Bob comes bellowing through the room. “If I’m not disturbing anything important here, can I ask just where you want me in all of this?”

Turning towards Bob, Arnold tries hard not to blush as he gives him his instructions. “When the time comes, you’ll be the one to go get Helga and bring her here to walk her down the aisle. So until Sid’s ready, you can just hang out and relax I guess.”

Once all the guys are dressed they leave the room to go mill about the reception area when Arnold hears a familiar voice.

“Nice little shin-dig you’ve got going on here, Shortman.”

Turning around, Arnold’s eyes widen when he sees his grandparents standing before him. “Grandpa! Grandma! You’re here!” Throwing his arms around the two the tears he’s been doing his best to hold onto all day come falling down his cheeks. “It’s so good to see you guys. How was the flight? Did you have any trouble finding the Johannsen’s once you landed?”

“Slow down there, Shortman and take a breath. Everything went fine. Now, where’s the bathroom? Wouldn’t you know it, of all the things for the plane to serve, it had to be raspberries.”

After pointing his grandfather in the right direction, he turns to look at his grandmother. He takes in how frail she looks and offers her a chair to sit down in. “Would you like to sit down, grandma?”

“Thank you, Kimba, but who has time for sitting when there’s a great-grandchild of mine to meet. Where is the little Prince?”

“Oh, right, he’s over here with Helga’s mom.”

Leading the way, Arnold introduces Gertie to her great-grandson. Phillip looks at her with a sparkle in his eye much like the one in hers. She reaches out for him, wondering if he’ll go to her willingly, or be scared. Much to her delight, he happily allows her to take him from his Grandma Mimi’s arms. Holding the boy, Gertie takes in his little outfit. It’s a black onsie, the picture of a tuxedo is silk screened on the front of it. He also wears a small pair of black pants and little black shoes. She moves her gaze to the boy’s face and stares into his green eyes. There is a catch in her breath as she notices how much he resembles her own child when he was just a baby. Holding him close she places a kiss on top of his baby soft hair.

“Hello, my little Prince, it’s so nice to finally meet you.” She softly whispers.

By now Grandpa has caught back up with them and takes a hold of Phillip’s little hand, giving it a shake. “Well, well, if it isn’t a new generation of Shortmen. How ya doing Shortman?”

Phillip gives a giggle at his silly great-grandpa, causing everyone around him to join in the laughter.

The family bonding time is cut short when Sid softly taps Arnold on the shoulder. “I hate to intrude, Arnold, but the guests have arrived. Its time for me to go get the girls.”

For a brief moment Arnold had forgotten all about the ceremony and quickly brings himself back to the matters at hand. “Oh, wow, already? Okay, I’ll make sure everyone’s in their place while you go get the girls.” Turning to his grandmother he offers to take Phillip from her. “Can I take him so you can take your seats?”

“Oh, no, Kimba. I’m not letting this fella go. He and I have some bonding to do.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m positive. You just go get ready for that bride of yours. The Prince and I will be fine.”

With everyone in place, and the chapel filled with friends and family, Arnold takes up his spot at the front of the aisle, his best friend by his side. 

“Well, Arnold.” Gerald whispers in his ear, “This is it.”

“Yeah,” Arnold says as he wipes his sweaty palms on his pant legs. “This is it.”

xxxxx

Helga stands as Rhonda finishes securing the long veil to her hair. Taking a step back Rhonda looks at her friend as if she is seeing her for the very first time.

 

“I must say, Helga, I never noticed before just how beautiful you can be when you fix yourself up.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Helga says, not really sure if she should be insulted or not.

“It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just that you look really pretty is all. Nothing to get your panties in a knot over.”

Helga is about to retaliate with another smart remark when there’s a knock at the door, the sound of Sid’s voice can be heard on the other side.

“Come on girls, we’re losing daylight here. Let’s get a move on.”

“Aw, keep your shirt on!” Helga yells as Rhonda checks Helga making sure everything’s in its place.

“Well, I hope you’re all decent, cause I’m coming in.”

As he enters the room Helga turns to face him, stopping him in his tracks. He momentarily forgets that he’s supposed to make a fuss over Helga being the bride and not Rhonda. “Helga. You – you’re, you’re so beautiful.” He breathes as his hands loosen their grip on his camera, leaving it to hang from his neck.

His intent stare flusters Helga, causing her cheeks to grow red. Not liking the sudden attention she falls back to old habits. “Take a picture why don’t you, it’ll last longer.” She growls.

Giving his head a shake he forces himself back to reality. “Hey, yeah, that is my job here. I’m not really sure why you’re wearing the bridal gown but we don’t have time to chat so if you could just stand there by the window so I can take a few pictures, I want to capture the light.”

Doing as she’s told, and with the help of her friends, she makes her way to the window. She stands, taking direction from Sid as he places her in different poses. After he’s satisfied he calls for the other girls to stand around her. “What’s a bridal shoot without the bride’s maids?” 

Another five minutes is spent in picture taking when Sid finally says that they really must get going. 

“Okay, girls, you head out to the chapel first, and then in about five minutes someone will come to get you Helga. I need to get a shot of you alone as you make your grand entrance.”

“I swear, Sid, with all the fuss that’s being made over this shoot you’d better win that contest.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Helga. With you as the blushing bride I have a feeling this win is in the bag. Now, remember, in about five minutes someone will be by to help you to the chapel, okay?”

“Okay, okay, criminy, just go.”

Helga paces the floor of the small room wishing she could sit down. She hates the fact that her face is going to be plastered throughout that stupid bridal magazine for all the world to see. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she is relieved to see that the five minutes are up and she figures it will be Gordon who will come to get her when she hears a small knock at the door. Thinking it’s Gordon, she reaches for the door. Opening it she is surprised to see her dad standing on the other side, anxiously pacing back and forth. 

“Dad! What are you doing here?”

Her voice startles him and he gives a slight jump. “Oh, uh, hi ya Helga. Uh, yeah, your friend Sid thought it would be nice if there was a father of the bride in the pictures, so he, uh, talked me into coming along for the shoot. Didn’t anyone tell you?”

She doesn’t believe him for one minute and is convinced now that she’s been right all this time about something fishy being up. “Uh, no, I think that’s something I would have remembered if they did.

Bob notices the look in her eye and is worried that she may be catching on so he does his best to distract her. “What? You don’t think I can do a good deed every now and then?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s just…….”

“Just what? You know I’ve been trying my best to turn over a new leaf, I just thought this might help change the way I’m seen in the community if people saw me helping out one of your friends.”

“Okay, okay, criminy. Forget I mentioned anything. Anyway, we really don’t have time to stand around talking, and you look about as uncomfortable as I do, so let’s go get this thing over with. Then afterwards I have a question or two for you.”

Bob does his best to hide his nervousness. “Uh, yeah, right. Let’s get this over with, then you can ask me whatever you want.”

Helping Helga with her dress, the two take off for the chapel. She hears organ music as it wafts softly from inside the building and thinks to herself that Sid sure did go all out for this shoot. She knew the decorations were necessary, but music? You can’t capture sound in a picture. 

When they reach the front doors of the chapel Bob stops them, and turns to Helga. Looking her in the eye he starts to fidget. “Listen, uh, before we go in there I have something I want to say to you.”

Having never seen Bob this nervous Helga’s senses go on high alert. “What is it, what’s wrong?”

“No, no, nothing’s wrong, it’s just. Well, I just want to tell you that, well, that I love you, and I’m really proud of the woman you’ve turned out to be. I know I wasn’t the most attentive father to you, and that we fought all the time, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t love you. It’s just, well, stuff like that, it’s never come easy for us Pataki’s to express, you know?”

Helga gives him a soft laugh. “Oh, I know it alright. And, dad, thank you for saying that. It really means a lot to me. Now, enough with the mushy stuff, let’s go win Sid that contest.”

At that Bob gives a small knock on the two doors that lead into the chapel. A couple of the guests open the doors from the inside, revealing to Helga for the first time what has been waiting for her. She is surprised to see people sitting in the pews. She didn’t know there’d be an audience. Looking closer she starts to recognize faces. She sees the old boarding house tenants from back in their PS 118 days, and Mr. Green and Mrs. Vitello. There’s the families of all her and Arnold’s childhood friends. Turning to her father, she looks at him with questioning eyes.

He looks down at his daughter and with a quiet voice he whispers, “Surprise, Helga, it’s the wedding you’ve always wanted.”

Helga looks from her father, to the room before her then back to her father once more. A rush of feelings course through her, making her feel like a small child. Barely able to get the words out she says, “D-daddy? Did – did you do this?”

Bob looks at her, his eyes softened with fatherly love. He gives her a smile as he shakes his head. “No, Helga, I wish I could take credit for this but it wasn’t me. The man you have to thank for this is standing up there, waiting for his bride. He did this all for you. I can see now just how much he truly loves you and, well, I guess it makes me kinda proud to call him my son-in-law.”

Helga turns her head and peers down the aisle. There at the end, standing next to what appears to be a preacher on one side, and his best friend on the other, stands Arnold. He fiddles with his collar as he stands and waits, causing her to smile at his little nervous habit. Looking at him right now she sees not Arnold the man, but Arnold the little boy of three years old. The boy who was the first ever to bestow upon her any type of kindness. She sees Arnold the young boy, who, at the tender age of nine, shared in her feelings of being forced to deal with nontraditional families as they spent that one particular holiday looking to experience the “perfect Thanksgiving” only to find that it was already right there at home, they only needed to open their eyes to it. She sees the boy to whom she would give up her most precious possession so that he may have the Christmas of his dreams. 

It all hits her at once, her knees grow weak and she must lean on her father for support as she takes that first step down the aisle. She walks with tunnel vision, seeing only her one true love. Unable to contain the tears, they fall from her eyes, leaving wet trails down her cheeks, the light that streams in through the stained glass windows reflect off those tears, casting its brilliance back out so it reflects off her face in a kaleidoscope of color. Losing all control, her weeping becomes audible as her shoulders shake with each happy sob. 

When they finally reach the end of the aisle her eyes lock onto her beloveds and there they stay. She barely hears the preacher when he asks who it is that gives this bride away, Bob’s response of “Her mother and I”, lost in Arnold’s eyes. Those glorious, green eyes. Eyes that have seen her at her worse yet still look at her with love. 

He takes her hand in his now, and she is immediately surrounded in warmth as his strong, rugged hand engulfs her much smaller one. She runs her thumb over the back of his hand, a hand that, with just one touch, can send her over the edge to euphoria. A hand that knows her body better than she herself does. She holds tight to this hand, using it as an anchor to hold her in place lest she float away being left to sail adrift in the raging tides of her emotions.

She has to fight to find her voice as she quietly questions her husband.

“Arnold?”

His smile is full of love as he gazes down at her.

“Surprise.” He says, causing her to lower her eyes as the blush on her cheeks deepens. 

Her father gently nudges her, bringing her back to reality as he leans in to kiss her cheek. He shakes Arnold’s hand before taking a seat next to his teary eyed wife. The preacher calls them both to join him at the small alter, instructing them to join both their hands together. It is at this moment that she notices her best friend for the first time as she hands her the bridal bouquet to hold. She looks at her friend in surprise.

“Phoebe, your-you’re here too.”

Her friend gives her a soft smile as she nods her head. “Of course, Helga, there’s no way I was going to miss this.”

After handing her the flowers she turns back to Arnold. The love that shines from his face encompasses her, warming her in its glow. Somewhere off in the distance she hears a voice as it addresses the crowd. It takes her a moment to realize that it is Gordon who speaks and she forces herself to listen.

He looks out to the crowd, his gaze scanning the room as he speaks. “Friends, family, neighbors, I come to you tonight on behalf of Arnold and Helga, to welcome you to the renewal of their wedding vows.”

Arnold continues to gaze down upon Helga as Gordon continues on. “I would like to begin by telling you a little bit about the first time I met Arnold. He and his best friend had been visiting various wedding venues when their search finally, after a long, tiring day, brought them here. I remember taking him into my office and having a nice chat with him. At the time, it was very plain to see that this was a man desperately in love, willing to move Heaven and Earth to give his wife something that she had so badly wanted, but had been willing to go without if it meant that they could be together. Through talking to him I came to see a selflessness within both of them as they built a relationship based on fulfilling the other’s needs before their very own. By the time we were done talking I said to myself ‘Gordon, this here is a couple that is destined to beat the odds’.”

His voice becomes a bit louder as he addresses the audience. “And now, seeing the love on their faces as they look at each other, I am more convinced than ever that they are in this for the long haul.”

He speaks directly to the couple standing in front of him now, the sea of people that fill the little chapel forgotten for the time being.

“Arnold, Helga, what the two of you share is something very special. Something that some people spend their whole lives chasing after only to turn up empty-handed in the end. You will be wise to heed my advice, and don’t ever take what you have for granted. What you share is fragile and needs to be tended to regularly through not just words, but through actions.”

He gives a little chuckle at the worried looks on their faces. “Don’t worry, my friends, it doesn’t always have to be something grand like this.” He spreads his arms in reference to the room and all their guests. “It can be through what the Misses and I like to call Love Gestures. Love Gestures can be something as simple as, say, an unexpected note telling the other you love them tucked away in their lunch, or on the dash of their car. It can be through thoughtful deeds like perhaps an unsolicited shoulder rub when you know the other’s had a particularly hard day. Just small things to let the other know that the love you share right now is still there, and will continue to be no matter what. Do you understand?”

The couple look at each other, the grip on their hands tightening, letting the other know that they are ready and willing to heed Gordon’s advice. They turn back to him, each nodding as they give a quiet “yes”.

“Wonderful.” Gordon says as he turns his attention back to the assembled guests. “And now I believe Arnold has something he wishes to say to Helga.” He nods to a nervous Arnold, prompting him to begin.

Arnold had had a whole list of things he wanted to say to Helga, but the moment he turned his gaze back to her all thought vanished from his mind. His cheeks feel as if they are on fire as he desperately tries to remember at least one thing he wanted to say. Finally finding his voice, he starts off with a little smile.

“Helga, I,” He stops for a moment unsure as to how to continue. “There’s so much I had wanted to say to you. I’ve been running them over and over in my head, wanting to get everything just right, but…. But looking at you now, the words escape me as I stand humbled in your mere presence. My love for you is so strong, so deep, that there are no words that can truly do it justice. I feel that anything I say will demean that love and make it sound cliché when in reality it’s what brings me life, what keeps me going. You are the reason I look forward to getting up in the morning, just the fact that in waking up it is your face I will be seeing, your voice that will fill my ears. You are the air that fills my lungs, the blood that pumps my heart. You are my life and I promise you now that I will never, ever, take that for granted. I pledge to you now my continued faith and loyalty. I pledge this not just to you, but to Phillip too. To Phillip and any and all other children I will be blessed to have with you. I vow that you will NEVER have to doubt my love for you.”

Helga looks into Arnold’s eyes, the combination of the tears that hang there, and his heartfelt speech leave her momentarily at a loss for words. After a moment she realizes that it is her turn to speak and for once in her life she struggles for something to say.

“Ar – Arnold, I – I don’t know what to say……..”

At Helga’s confession a Stunned Stinky’s voice can be heard ringing through the quiet room.

“Wilikers, Arnold’s done rendered Helga speechless.”

A polite chorus of giggles can be heard scattered among the guests as Lila gives her boyfriend a glare. Stinky catches the look on Lila’s face, totally unaware of what he’s done wrong. Shrugging his shoulders he says the only thing that comes to mind.

“Well it’s true.”

With the blush on Helga’s face deepening even redder, she finally finds her voice.

Watching a stray tear as it makes its way down Arnold’s cheek, she reaches up letting it pool up on the tip of her index finger. She holds her finger up, the light from above hits it, causing it to sparkle. She looks at the tear and her voice is soft as she speaks.

“They say that it is good luck to cry on your wedding day because it symbolizes that you have shed away all your tears, and because of this there will no longer be any tears left to shed for the rest of your marriage. Now, I don’t know if that holds true for vow renewals, but I can promise you that I will do everything in my power to never give you any reason to shed another tear unless out of happiness.”

She takes the hand that holds his tear and places the palm of it to his cheek, her eyes never leaving his. “Arnold, I’ve known you my whole life. As a matter of fact, I can’t even remember a time that you weren’t a part of it in some way or another. Its almost as if my life didn’t really start until that day we met so many years ago. I remember we were all of what, three? Four? I don’t really know, but what I do know, is that the moment I looked into those gorgeous green eyes of yours I knew at that very moment that I wanted to spend my entire life with you. I admit that things weren’t always good between us, and a lot of that was my own fault. I wasn’t the nicest person growing up. But being with you, you’ve changed me. You’ve made me a better person than who I was. For so much of my life I was like this small ship, lost at sea. Being relentlessly tossed about, always on the verge of capsizing. But you saved me, Arnold. You were my lighthouse, your love a beacon that led me, guiding me to calmer waters, and that’s what you do, Arnold, you calm me.”

She turns and gestures to the crowd of guests. “There’s not one person in this room that can’t say that they haven’t noticed a change in me over the years. So many times I’d hear people jokingly say how much you’ve rubbed off on me since we’ve been together, but you know what? Its not a joke, its true. Every bit of it is true. You’ve saved me, Arnold. You’ve saved me from a path that would most definitely have led to destruction if it wasn’t for you. And now, here I stand. Holding the hands of the man I love and blessed with a son that means the world to me. Every ounce of happiness I have in my life I owe to you. I love you, Arnold. With every fiber of my being I love you, and I vow to you right now that you, also, will never have to doubt that love, for my eyes only see you, and my heart beats only for you. It always has and it always will. I promise to take heed in Gordon’s words and do everything in my power to keep our love alive.” 

She jabs a finger into his chest now as she gives him a wide smile. “And that, Bucko, you can take to the bank!”

More polite laughter can be heard as the couple stands, still lost in each other’s eyes. Its Gordon’s turn to once again address the crowd.

“We all stand witness to the renewed vows that have been made between Arnold and Helga, and I want to ask you all now, do you pledge to do your best to support this couple as they continue on with their journey as man and wife?”

There is a collective “We do!” from the guests as Gordon accepts their response. Turning back to the happy couple, he continues to smile. Well, Arnold, Helga, you’ve reaffirmed your love for each other and vowed to always be there for each other. I guess all that’s left is for you, Arnold, to kiss your bride.”

With a smile that fills his whole face, Arnold looks at Helga and lets out a loud “Gladly!” before taking her into his arms and tipping her backwards into a deep dip. Placing his lips to hers, the kiss is deep and lingering as he conveys his ever growing love to her. Without a dry eye in the room, the crowd explodes with hearty applause amid cheers of support with a few shouts of “Go get her Arnold!” Thrown in for good measure.

Once the kiss is broken, and Helga is once again standing upright, Gordon has them turn to face their friends and families. “And now I take great pleasure in presenting to you, Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Shortman.”

With renewed applause, Arnold turns to his groomsmen, and Helga to her bridesmaids, both giving them all hearty hugs. Joining hands once again, the happy couple rush down the center aisle, followed closely by the wedding party. They form a reception line, greeting each guest individually until Sid whisks them off for some picture taking before he loses the last of the setting sun. The guests are led to the back reception area where they partake in appetizers and drinks as they wait while pictures are being taken.

xxxxx

The air is filled with soft jazz as the band that Arnold hired plays quietly in the background while the guests mingle about. After a good 40 minutes of picture taking the wedding party joins the guests, quick to grab a drink and some appetizers for themselves. Once Gerald is given the signal from Sid, he steps up to the small stage and speaks into the microphone to introduce Arnold and Helga.

They stand together along the side of the chapel, waiting for their que to enter the reception. They hold each other, getting lost in their kisses, not hearing Gerald call their names. It’s not until they hear Harold’s voice that they finally remember where they are.

“Awww, I found them, they’re over here making out!”

Breaking apart, they give Harold an embarrassed smile as they pass him on their way to finally joining their guests. As they round the corner Helga is taken aback for a second time as she scans the reception area. Their guests are seated at round tables, each holding ten to twelve people. The tables are covered in white linen tablecloths and set with fine china and crystal. There are pink cloth napkins that match the modest centerpieces of pink roses and baby’s breath. The chairs are white with pink tulle bows tied to their backs. There is a small dance floor with a raised platform where a four piece jazz band has been set up. All of this sitting under a sea of tiny white lights that are strung across the whole area with the starry night sky behind them.

As they make their way to their table, they pass by the wedding cake. Helga takes a moment to stop, and smiles at how Arnold has chosen to have it decorated. It’s your typical tiered wedding cake, covered in white buttercream frosting. Delicate flowers cascade down the tiers in soft shades of pink and blue. It’s not until her eyes reach the top of the cake that her heart skips a beat. There perched proudly on the top layer is a small blue baseball cap, a pink bow propped up next to it, each one hand molded out of modeling chocolate. She looks at him, fresh tears beginning to form in her eyes.

“Oh, Arnold, it’s just so, us. It’s perfect, everything has just been so perfect.”

She looks at him, her eyes narrowing. “I KNEW that all this time you were up to something, I just never dreamed it would be anything like this.” She turns and looks out towards the reception area and chapel.

“Hey, what can I say? I told you I could keep a secret.”

She laughs softly as she gives him a small kiss. “Yes, by golly, you did. And you actually pulled it off, too.”

“Well, I do have to admit, it wasn’t easy. You can be pretty intense when you’re on the scent of something. There were quite a few times when I was afraid that I was going to crack under the pressure. Gerald too for that matter.”

Helga turns to look at her husband’s accomplice. “That’s right. Remind me later to question that man about his role in this whole matter.”

Arnold gives an internal grimace and he almost feels sorry for his best friend. “Aw, give the guy a break, you had him sweating bullets a few times too with your intense stares and questions, the poor guy. Besides, I never could have pulled this all off without his help.” Arnold thinks about the neighborhood and everyone’s eagerness to lend him a hand. “Actually, without everyone’s help I’d never have been able to have managed it. You’d be surprised at how many people stepped up to help out with this. You know, Helga, we are surrounded by some pretty awesome people.”

“You’ll have to tell me everything later tonight, but for now, I think everyone’s anxious to get on with the reception.”

They make their way to their table, letting the real festivities begin. The evening is filled with food and laughter, toasts are made and jokes run rampant as each member of the wedding party recalls an event or two from Helga and Arnold’s past. There is the first dance, the father daughter dance, the mother son dance that Arnold does with his grandmother. The cake is cut and the bouquet tossed and all eyes turn to Stinky as Lila catches the thrown flowers. 

After a while the music turns soft as Helga and Arnold mingle among the guests. Helga stands talking to Mrs. Vitello, telling her what a beautiful job she did with the flowers when Arnold spies Brayden as he stands off in a corner quietly surveying the crowd. Arnold walks up to him, a look of relieved surprise on his face. Brainy, uh, I mean Brayden, I’m so glad you made it!”

Arnold reaches a hand out to Brayden who only looks at it. Once Arnold realizes Brayden is not going to take it, he awkwardly reaches for the back of his neck. Brayden’s gaze then turns to Arnold himself.

“Don’t get the wrong idea, Arnold. I didn’t come here for you. I’m here for Helga.”

Arnold starts to get angry but refuses to let the guy ruin his otherwise perfect evening, so his voice is controlled when he speaks. “It doesn’t matter the reason you’re here. The important thing is that you came.”

Before Brayden can reply, Helga comes walking up to the two. “Brainy!” She yells, a huge smile sits on her face. “I can’t believe you’re here!” 

She pulls him in for a tight hug, his eyes on Arnold as he hugs her back. “Well of course, Helga, how could I stay away from your big night?”

She takes him by the hand now, and pulls him towards the dance floor. “Come on, I think I’ve danced with everyone here but you. You can’t leave without dancing at least one dance with me first.”

He watches Arnold out of the corner of his eye as the two pass him on their way to the dance floor, a small smirk on his face as he says, “Of course, Helga, whatever you say.”

The music is slow and soft as the two sway together, Brainy’s eyes never leaving hers. He sees how happy she is which, in turn, makes him happy. He brings a hand up and gently brushes a bit of escaped hair behind her ear, his fingertips briefly touching her cheek as he lowers his hand, placing it on her hip once again.

She looks into his eyes and somewhere deep inside she knows this can’t be easy for him. She smiles at him, her words sincere when she speaks. “I – I’ve missed you, Brainy. I understand why you left Hillwood, but, I really wish you had stayed. Next to Phoebe you were, no, are, probably one of my best friends.”

“I wanted to stay, Helga, but I just couldn’t.”

“I never really apologized for how things went down back when we were kids. It was never my intention to hurt you, you know.”

He gives her the tiniest of smiles. “I know. And I also know that deep down I always knew that you still loved Arnold. But knowing that didn’t make things any easier. So many times I wished I had felt differently, but I couldn’t stop loving you any more than you could stop loving him.”

“Oh, Brainy, I……….”

“No, don’t. There’s nothing to feel sorry for, nothing to be guilty for. It just wasn’t in the cards for us. I knew that. Even when we were together I knew that, but I still had to try. You know?”

“Yeah, I know. But please know, Brainy, I do love you, you are like family to me.”

“And I will take that love, even if it’s not the kind I would hope for, because I don’t ever want you not in my life. I guess you think that’s pretty pathetic, don’t you.”

“No, Brainy, I don’t. I’ll never see you as pathetic. Truth be told, I see you as strong. Stronger than I could ever be. But, I do have one favor to ask of you.”

“Oh? I probably have an idea of what it is, but go ahead, ask me anyway.”

“Well, I’d really love it if you and Arnold could finally bury the hatchet. Don’t you think It’s time to put all this behind us?”

Brayden gives a little huff at her suggestion. “Heh, now you’re sounding just like him. I admit, he’s tried a couple of times to get me to let bygones be bygones, but I guess I’ve been stubborn. I’ve been blaming him for something that was out of all of our control. Tell you what. I won’t make any promises, but perhaps I can work on finally getting past all this. God knows I’ve been holding on to it long enough.”

“Oh, Brainy, I think we’d all be happier if some sort of truce can be made between you and Arnold.”

The song finally finishes and Brayden looks into Helga’s eyes and he knows she’s right. He gives her a quick kiss on the tip of her nose and smiles.

“Okay, I’ll go back to New York and think about it. It would be kind of nice to not always have this dark cloud hanging over my head every time I come back to Hillwood.”

She throws her arms around his neck, squeezing him tight. “Oh Brainy, thank you!”

He chuckles as he pulls her off of him. “You’re welcome, now lets’ get you back to your husband before he pops a gasket.”

She turns to look at Arnold whose eyes have been riveted onto them the whole time they were dancing. Taking Helga by the hand, Brainy leads her back to him and places her hand in his. 

“Well, I hate to dance and run, but I’ve got a business to run back in New York, so I’ll be taking the Red Eye back tonight.” He holds out his hand to Arnold who gladly accepts it. “Arnold, old man, thanks for the invite. I look forward to seeing you guys again.” To Helga he just hugs her, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. 

“Bye, Brainy.” She says as she wraps an arm around her husband’s waist.

Arnold looks down at her, one eyebrow raised in a question. She looks back and smiles. “It’s a long story, remind me and I’ll tell you about it later.”

xxxxx

With the evening slowly coming to an end, Arnold is eager to whisk his wife off to the little cottage that sits waiting for them at the end of the trail that leads into the forest. He notices that Phillip is beginning to enter his over tired stage and is becoming fussy. He says a few words to the band’s leader who in turn makes an announcement that it is time for the tired couple’s last dance of the evening. When Helga hears the song Arnold has chosen as their last song, she takes a sleepy Phillip from his Grandma Mimi and brings him to the dance floor with her. She holds him in front of her, resting him on her chest and Arnold wraps his arms around them both, sandwiching their child between them. The band starts to play Good Night My Love as the couple slowly sways their child to sleep. Helga softly sings to Phillip, lifting her gaze every so often to look into her husband’s eyes. 

Once the song has finished, she carefully hands the now sleeping Phillip back to his grandmother. Both she and Arnold gently kissing the top of his head. They thank everyone for all the love and support they’ve been given and, taking Helga by the hand, they disappear up the path.

There’s still a good hour or so before the band calls it quits for the night so the tired couple can hear the music as it starts back up for the remaining guests. Arnold and Helga walk hand in hand, as they make their way up the trail. Once they come around the final bend, they see the small cottage as it sits tucked away among the surrounding trees. Light from the hurricane lamps can be seen as it glows from the windows that face them. Once they reach the front door Arnold turns the knob, opening it before he sweeps his bride up in his arms, carrying her over the threshold. She lets out a small squeal as she is lifted, her hands quickly wrapping around his neck. He kisses her as they disappear into the little cottage, shutting the door behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, you guys are curious as to what’s going on behind closed doors. Don’t worry, we’ll hear about that in the next chapter. As for now though, I figured we’d give them some privacy and you can come up with your own ideas of what’s going on. ;)


	102. Chapter 102

The sun streams through the window of the small cottage, hitting Arnold in the face. He squints in an effort to block out its brightness. Taking a deep breath, he lazily lets it out as he makes a first attempt at opening his eyes. The sun’s rays are relentless as they nudge him on to wakefulness. Knowing when he’s been beat, he fully opens his eyes, taking a moment to let them adjust. Moving his gaze downwards, he sees the top of his wife’s head as it rests motionless on his chest. The arm that surrounds her gently rubs her bare arm as he places a soft kiss into her golden hair. His lips pull up in a small, content smile as memories from last night run through his head, reminding him of how they’ve ended up where they are now.

It was pretty dark when they first entered the one room cottage, the hurricane lamps providing just enough light so they wouldn’t trip over any furniture. Not that they were very interested in taking in the sights at the time. No, they had other, more pressing matters to attend to. Few words were exchanged at first as he set her feet back on the ground that night, their lips never parting long enough for anything more than a quick “I love you”, or a maddened “Don’t stop!” Their hands worked double time as they struggled to shed each other of the cumbersome clothing, the forty or so buttons that ran down the back of her dress the biggest frustration of the night. He was tempted a time or two to say the hell with it and just rip the dress off of her, but the rational side of him just couldn’t let him do it.

Once freed of their wedding clothes they waste no time in consummating their freshly renewed vows as he grabs her at the waist, lifting her up. Her legs wrap around him, locking him in a vice like grip as his hands cup her bottom, pulling her tightly against him. She throws her head back as his mouth latches onto one of her breasts, the pleasure she gets from his fevered sucking hitting her deep within her core. 

He walks them to the bed which has been turned down for them, their minds so preoccupied they don’t even notice the fresh rose petals that have been spread across it. He throws her down, entering her before her back barely has time to even touch the mattress. She accepts him with primal shout and a quick “Oh God!” as he wastes no time in showing her that he means business. The sex is raw and rough as he relentlessly drills into her. She savors each mind blowing stroke as her nails dig deep into his skin. The trails they leave across his back will stand out bright and red in the morning. When they come, they come together, their voices mingling into one long, satisfied moan. 

After a moment he rolls off of her and she immediately cuddles into his side. With his arm around her they both lay and catch their breath. Once he has gathered enough strength, he props himself up on one elbow and peers down at her. The dim light from the bedside lamp accentuates the rosy glow that covers her body and he is sure that he’s never seen anyone as beautiful as she. Sitting up, she playfully kisses the tip of his nose before noticing a stand which holds a bucket filled with ice, as well as a cold bottle of champagne and two fluted glasses. Opening the bubbly libation, they toast their gracious hosts, sending out a thank you for their thoughtfulness. Next they toast each other and their renewed promises of never ending love and fidelity. They toast their friends and families and the community in general for their willingness to do whatever they could to make this a night the two will always remember. By the time they have finished their toasts they have drained the once full bottle and sit giggling together as a peaceful buzz fills their heads. 

They come together again, only this time the mood is playful, the lovemaking slow and leisurely, all sense of time forgotten. It’s not until sometime after the moon begins its fade into the dawning sky that they finally fall asleep in each other’s arms, with blissful smiles on their faces. 

He’s pulled from his thoughts as he feels his wife begin to stir. He watches as her eyes flutter open. There is the briefest moment of confusion in them until she realizes where she is. She places a small kiss on his chest as she snuggles in a bit closer. She breathes in the heady scent of his cologne as it mixes with the leftover aromas of sweat and sex and it sends her into a brief moment of euphoria, much like an addict relishing in their first hit of the day. 

They sit up, resting their backs against the bed’s wooden headboard. Looking around the room, it’s the first time they’ve really been able to see it. It’s rustic, but well-kept. Straight across from the bed is the front of the cottage, the wooden door is flanked on either side by windows that are covered in lacy curtains. To their right is a sitting area that contains a small couch and a matching, overstuffed chair, the likes of which Arnold would claim as “his” if it were in their home. There is a small, round dining table with four chairs that sit around it. There are place mats set at each spot and a centerpiece of fresh wildflowers which have most likely been plucked from the surrounding woods. 

To the left of them is a door that leads to a small bathroom with a shower barely big enough for one, which they will do their best to squeeze into together once finished with breakfast. Also to the left of the room is a small kitchen area. The countertop forms a U with a sink at its center. Above the sink is another window. Attached to the wall of the kitchen are cabinets both above and below the countertop and there is a small icebox that acts more like a cooler than refrigerator. The side of the counter opposite the kitchen wall is lined with four bar stools.

They sit for a while reminiscing over last night’s events when Arnold excuses himself to visit the bathroom. As he gets up he hears a chorus of giggles from behind him. He turns and gives Helga a questioning look.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing.” She says as she moves over to where he stands by the bed. “But I have to ask, since when did you start decorating your butt with rose petals?”

“What?” He replies, turning in circles as he does his best to look at his own bottom.

Laughing harder now she reaches out and peels a pink petal from his rounded posterior. She holds it up for him to see.

“I think I should press this in a book when I get home as a little memento of our night.”

“That’s just like you. Of all the things you could possibly pick from to use as a reminder of our special night, you choose an ass petal.”

“Hey, think of it this way, every time I look at it, it will remind me of your cute butt.”

“Heh, very funny. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have business to take care of.”

She watches as he disappears into the bathroom then looks down at her own naked body. She sees the duffle bags Arnold packed but decides to just wear the shirt from his tux. Slipping it on, she buttons a couple of the buttons then shuffles over to the kitchen, hoping to find something to eat. Much to her delight, she sees a wrapped basket filled with various homemade muffins, along with some fruit, and she mentally sends Gordon and his wife another thank you. Spying the small ice box, she is happy to see that it’s well stocked with various beverages. She sees a small bottle of champagne and some orange juice. Retrieving their glasses from last night, she makes up a couple of mimosas and sits at one of the bar stools, waiting for her husband to join her. 

When the bathroom door finally opens she can’t help but smile as he comes walking out. She takes in his half-lidded eyes and messy bed-head and thinks that he has GOT to be the cutest thing she’s ever seen. He shuffles over to her and gives her a kiss before taking a deep gulp of the mimosa. He goes to take a seat at the stool next to her but thinks twice before placing his bare bottom on the vinyl seat. He rummages through the clothes that lay in a heap on the floor and pulls on his boxers.

“There,” He says as he takes a seat. “Now I don’t have to worry about my butt sticking to the stool. So, what’s there for eats, for some reason I’m famished.”

Helga gives him a chuckle. “Oh, I just can’t imagine what could have made you so hungry.”

He smiles at her, “Yeah, it’s not like we did anything last night to work up a hunger.”

“Oh, no. Not at all.” She laughs as she gives him a playful wink.

He grabs a blueberry muffin and rips off a large piece, cramming it in his mouth. “Mmmm, these are so delicious!”

“I can’t get over Gordon and his wife going out of their way for us like they have.” She says as she takes a bite out of a chocolate chip muffin. She turns and looks him straight in the eye. “And you. I’m still in a little bit of shock over this whole thing. As a matter of fact, I can’t decide what I’m more shocked over, the fact that you did something like this, or the fact that you were actually able to keep it a secret from me. You’re such a bad secret keeper.”

“Heh, well, I’d say that being able to pull this off actually makes me the world’s BEST secret keeper.”

She narrows her eyes at him as she speaks. “I don’t know. I think that if I just had another week or two I’d have been able to break you and make you fess up. As a matter of fact, you actually have Phoebe to thank for getting me to drop my suspicions.” 

He gives her a raise of an eyebrow. “Oh yeah, how so?”

“Well, I was on the phone with her last Saturday and was telling her how I had had enough of your weird behavior and had decided to not stop badgering you until you broke and fessed up when she talked be out of it.” Helga thinks about the conversation for a minute and finally realizes how her best friend pulled the wool over her eyes. “Heh, the little sneak actually talked me out of it. She knew all along what was up and never said a word. How do you like that, I never would have thought she’d have it in her to trick me like that.”

“Well I’m glad she did because I don’t know how much longer I could have lasted. You can be pretty brutal you know.”

She thinks about the day in the park and her little talk with Gerald. “Ha, I guess I can. Poor Gerald, I never saw him so relieved than that day at the park when you finally came back after getting us all Mr. Fudgy bars.”

Arnold laughs at the memory. “Yeah, he said being stuck under your scrutiny was the worst thing he’s ever had to go through.”

“Well, serves him right for trying to pull one over on me.” 

Arnold finishes the last of his Mimosa and slides off the bar stool. “Whatever you say, Helga. Now, how about we see how many people that little shower can hold before we pack up and head back home.”

xxxxx

They take their time driving back to Hillwood, torn between not wanting the last 24 hours to end, and getting back home to their son. Helga leans back in her seat as she watches her husband’s profile. In his rush to pack their overnight bags, he had forgotten his razor and she reaches up to run the back of her hand across the blonde stubble that is beginning to sprout on his face. A little dimple forms right at the corner of his mouth as he smiles, his green eyes sparkle as he turns his face to kiss her fingers. She takes a finger and runs it across his bottom lip before he turns his attention back to the road. There’s a playfulness to his voice as he speaks.

“So, I take it you’re liking the five o’clock shadow look.”

“I admit that on you it’s a little sexy.”

He reaches up and rubs his stubbly chin with one hand. “I can always let it grow out you know. I’m sure it wouldn’t take more than a few days before it’d grow into a full on beard.”

“Arnold, you know my opinions of your face and beards.”

“I know, I know, you like looking at my face and don’t want it covered with facial hair. But what if I just keep the beard for a couple of months. To give you some time to get used to it. You may find that you like it you know.”

“And I also may find that I miss the little dimples you get when you smile, or that quirky little smirk that drives me wild.”

“Okay then, no beard. I’ll just grow a soul patch like Gerald and call it good.”

She gives a giggle at the thought of Arnold and Gerald with matching soul patches. “Aw, you and Gerald sporting matching bro patches. That’s cute. You should do it.”

“It’s not a bro patch, it’s a soul patch.”

“On other men, yes. On you and Gerald, it would be a bro patch. It’s actually pretty perfect, it would fit right in with the bromance you two’ve got going on.”

“Gerald and I do not have a bromance going on.”

“Oh yeah? Well I have pictures from New Year’s Eve that says different.”

Arnold looks at her with wide eyes. “You said you deleted those pictures off your phone.”

“I did, right after I moved them to my laptop. Maybe next year for Christmas I should make you and Gerald matching pillows with pictures of the two of you all cuddled up in the back of my car.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Oh, I don’t know. You going to grow a beard?”

Arnold looks at her through narrowed eyes. “You’re evil, you know that?”

Helga gives him a smug smile. “I know, but you love me anyway.”

With that the matter is once again closed for discussion and it’s another hour before they finally pull up to the boarding house. When they walk through the front door they immediately hear the sound of Grandpa’s voice as it comes drifting from the kitchen.

“That you Shortman?” He says as he rummages through the refrigerator searching for something to eat.

The sound of his voice, mixed with the familiar greeting, sends Arnold into a state of intense Deja vu. He is caught off guard as a myriad of childhood memories come rushing back to him. How many times had he entered the boarding house only to be greeted by those same words, spoken by a man that was more father than grandfather to him? For the briefest of moments it’s as if time has stood still and he is once again that young boy of nine or ten. Images of him coming home from school run through his head, his shirt covered in yellow paint. Paint that was carelessly put there by the very woman that he now shares his life with. 

He heads towards the kitchen, expecting to see his boyhood mentor and confidant as he was some sixteen years ago, but the image that greets him quickly pulls him back to reality. “Where has the time gone?” He thinks to himself as he walks towards his aged grandfather. He feels a sharp pang in his heart as he walks up to the frail man before him. He’s careful not to squeeze too tightly as he wraps his arms around his grandfather, giving him a warm, heartfelt hug.

“Yeah, Grandpa, it’s me.” He softly says into his ear.

Breaking the embrace, Phil claps his grandson on his back, giving him a warm smile. “Well, it’s good to have you back home.” He gives his head a nod towards Helga who’s been standing in the doorway observing her husband’s actions. “You too little lady, good to have you home.”

Helga walks towards Phil, giving him a hug of her own. “Thank you, Grandpa, it’s good to be home. We can’t thank you enough for watching Little Phil for us. I hope he wasn’t any trouble for you last night.”

Phil waves a hand at her, brushing off her comment. “Nah, he was a perfect angel. I tell you, I see a lot of Gertie in that one. You’re going to have to keep close tabs on him as he gets older.”

Helga gives a look around. “Um, speaking of Grandma, where is she?”

Phil grabs a couple of glasses from the cupboard, placing them on the table for him and Arnold. “Oh, she’s up in the nursery with that baby of yours. She’s barely let him out of her sight since we got back home last night.”

Giving Phil a quick kiss on the cheek, she turns to leave the kitchen. “Thanks, Grandpa. I think I’ll go see how she’s doing.”

Phil gives a little chuckle as he and Arnold sit down to share in a glass of milk and some cookies he found hidden away in the pantry.

Arnold takes a cookie chuckling as he dunks it in his milk. “Heh, Helga had said she was going to make an effort to cut back on her sweets. It looks like you stumbled on her hidden stash.”

Phil gives Arnold a wizened smile. “Oh, well, Arnold my boy, a girl’s got to have some pleasures in life, right? Besides, she can probably use the extra calories running after that little guy of yours.”

“I guess you’re right as always, Grandpa. So, I didn’t really get a chance to talk to you much last night. How was your flight? Did Grandma behave herself?”

There’s a hint of sadness in Phil’s eyes at the mention of his wife. “Oh, you’re grandmothers mellowed out quite a bit in the last few years, Arnold. We both have, I guess. We’re not spring chickens anymore, you know.” 

Arnold does know. He wishes he didn’t, but he does. “Yeah, Grandpa, I guess I do.”

A mischievous glint comes to Phil’s eyes as chuckles. “But that doesn’t mean the flight was 100% incident free.”

Arnold smiles as he tries to imagine just what sort of shenanigans his grandmother had up her sleeves for those poor flight attendants. “Oh, boy, I can tell by the look in your eye that this is going to be good……”

xxxxx

Helga quietly walks up to the nursery, leaning her ear into the crack in the partially opened door. She hears a quiet humming coming from inside and gives the door a small push. She looks in to see Gertie sitting in the rocking chair, a content smile on her face as Phillip lays sleeping on her chest. With her eyes closed, she rubs her cheek on the downy softness of Phillip’s hair. Helga feels as if she’s intruding on a personal moment between the two, but it doesn’t stop her from pulling out her phone and snapping a quick picture of them. 

She very quietly steps into the room, walking up to where the two sit. Gertie continues to hum to the sleeping child, making Helga think that she is unaware of her presence. After a moment Gertie opens her eyes. Tears sit pooled around her lower lids, the bright blue of her eyes washing out to a water-colored gray. She stares at nothing in particular as she speaks.

“It’s a wonderful thing, the bond between a mother and her son.”

Helga takes a step closer, placing a hand on Gertie’s shoulder. “You still miss him, don’t you.”

The corners of Gertie’s mouth turn up into an almost imperceptible smile. “Oh, yes. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about my Miles.”

Helga is quiet for a moment as she tries to hold tightly to her composure, but her efforts are thwarted by a crack in her voice as she speaks. “If Arnold is anything like his father was, then Miles must have been a kind and wonderful man.”

Gertie’s smile becomes wider as the tears finally break loose of their moorings. “Oh, he was. You know, sometimes when I look into Arnold’s eyes I can see Miles staring right back at me.”

It takes great effort for Helga to swallow the lump that has formed in her throat. “I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for you and Grandpa, to lose your only child like that.”

Gertie takes a deep breath before slowly letting it out. “It’s something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. But I guess in a way we were lucky to have Arnold to help fill the loneliness. He certainly did keep us on our toes.”

“And you did a wonderful job raising him. You instilled in him values that he still, to this day adheres to.”

Gertie looks up into Helga’s eyes. “I’ve always liked you, you know. You’ve always reminded me of myself as a little girl. Even when you were just kids I knew you were the one for our Arnold. I’m glad he has you in his life now.”

“Thank you, Grandma. It means a lot to me to hear you say that.”

Gertie clears her throat as she stands, handing Phillip to his mother. “Yes, well, enough with the mushy stuff. I have an errand to run.” She rushes out of the nursery without looking back. “I may be late getting back, so don’t bother waiting up for me.”

Helga stands dumbfounded at the quick about face in Gertie’s attitude and tries to ask her where she’s going but she’s gone before she has the chance. Laying her sleeping child down in his crib she quickly runs after Gertie.

“Grandma, wait! Where are you going?”

Gertie grabs her sweater and purse as she runs down the hall. Arnold and Phil look up from their cookies just in time to see a blur rush past the kitchen, yelling as she runs out the front door.

“THE PRINCE NEEDS HIS BACON! SAVE THE BACON!”

The two men look at each other and shrug as they go back to their cookies and milk. Less than a minute later Helga enters the kitchen out of breath, huffing heavily as she talks.

“Did you see her? Where’d she go? We need to go after her!”

Grandpa gets up, grabbing a glass for Helga. Sitting back down, he pours her some milk.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about Pookie, She has a habit of disappearing for a while, but she always comes home eventually.”

Helga gives him a look that says he should be at least a little more worried. “But Grandpa, it’s been a few years since she’s lived here. Things have changed. Downtown has been completely renovated. What if she gets down there and doesn’t know where she is? She could get hurt. She could get MUGGED!”

Arnold and Phil look at each other before breaking out in laughter, leaving Helga to stand confused.

“I don’t see what’s so funny about the possibility of your grandmother getting mugged, Ar-nol-do!”

Once Arnold is able to stop laughing and catch his breath, he looks at his wife. “Helga, Grandma is a master of the martial arts. She taught me everything I know. She’s studied under the best teachers. If you’re going to feel sorry for anyone, you should feel sorry for any person dumb enough to take her on. Right Grandpa?”

“The Shortman’s right, Helga. Now stop worrying and have a cookie.”

Still looking at them in disbelief, Helga sits down, taking a cookie from Phil and dunking it in her milk. “Alright, if you say so.” She says as she shoves the cookie in her mouth. “But if we get a phone call at three-thirty in the morning telling us to come pick her up at the police station, it’s you two that will be dragging your butts out of bed to go get her.”

xxxxx

Later that night, just as the sun starts making its way over the horizon, one Gertrude Shortman finally makes her way back to the boarding house, bringing with her a suspicious bundle wrapped snugly in a blanket.


	103. Chapter 103

“A PIG! WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO WITH A PIG?”

Arnold puts a finger up to his lips, signaling for Helga to lower her voice. “Shhh, she’ll hear you!”

“I don’t care who hears me! I am not going to play nursemaid to a pig!”

“Come on, Helga, it’s not as bad as you think. I had Abner when I was a kid and he was my best friend.”

“And you know how I felt about Abner. No, no way. I will not have a pig in this house and that’s that.”

Helga moves to pace the floor of their bedroom, with Arnold following close behind her. “Now Helga, you yourself said we should get Phillip a dog. Well pigs are twice as smart as dogs, and they’re just as clean. Plus you can house break them. I really don’t see what the problem is.”

Helga stops in mid pace, causing Arnold to bump into her as she turns around. “The problem is, that – it’s – a –PIG!”

Arnold reaches down to pick up the baby pot-bellied pig. “But look at how cute she is. And she already has a name, it’s Agnes.”

“Heh, Agnes. What kind of name is that for a pig?”

Arnold holds Agnes up so she’s looking directly into Helga’s eyes. “Awww, you love your mama, don’t you Agnes?”

The two female’s eyes meet and for just a moment Helga must admit to herself that Agnes is pretty cute – for a pig that is. Not wanting to see the smug smile on Arnold’s face when he realizes that he’s won, she turns her nose up as she walks out of the bedroom. “Okay, Phillip can have the pig, but I’m not cleaning up after it, that’s your job.”

Arnold smiles as he gives Agnes a little hug. “See Aggie, I knew she’d like you.” He says as he follows his wife out of their bedroom and downstairs to the family room where his grandparents sit watching Little Phillip as he crawls around the room.

He continues to hold Agnes as he addresses his grandmother. “Helga and I are really excited about Phillip’s new pet.” He gives Helga an elbow to her side. “Aren’t we Helga?”

She gives her husband an annoyed look before turning to Gertie. “Uh, yeah, yeah, we, um, can’t wait to see how she and Phillip get along. But, I really have to ask, how on earth did you end up with a baby pig?”

Helga swears she sees Gertie’s eyes twinkle as she speaks. “Oh, I heard her calling me. She and her siblings were separated from her mother and about to be shipped off to God knows where. So I knew she and the others were in desperate need of rescuing.”

Helga gives a hard swallow as she questions Gertie. “The others? You ‘rescued’ more than one pig?”

“Why yes my dear. I couldn’t take dear Agnes with me and leave her brothers and sisters behind.”

“Wh-what did you do with the others?”

Gertie gets up and looks at Helga before heading off to the kitchen. “Why, I set them free my dear. Now who’s ready for breakfast? I’ve got a hankering for some bacon and eggs.”

Helga looks towards Grandpa Phil, hoping to gain some clarity on Gertie’s “set them free” statement, but all he can do is hold his hands up in a “beats me” gesture. Deciding that it’s probably better that she doesn’t know, she sits down and watches as Arnold carefully places Agnes on the floor next to their son.

“Be careful, Arnold, and get ready to rescue Phillip if that pig become aggressive with him.”

Arnold watches the interaction between his son and their new pet very closely. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen.”

Phillip and Agnes look at each other, neither one quite knowing what to make of the situation. Eventually Phillip starts to crawl over to Agnes, sitting on his bottom when he reaches her. He holds his hand up in front of Agnes’ snout causing his mother to give out a little shout.

“Phillip, no, no, be careful! Agnes could bite you!”

Arnold shakes his head at his wife. “Will you relax, she’s not going to bite him.”

“How do you know? You don’t know that.”

“Yes I do.” He points at the newly acquainted pair. “Look at how well they’re getting along.”

Phillip gives out a loud giggle as Agnes nuzzles her snout into his hand. He reaches up, patting her on the top of her head, her little piggy tail wagging with joy.

Grandpa Phil gives out an amused chuckle. “Heh, that’s just how it was with you and Abner, Shortman. Yep, best friends from the very moment you met.”

Helga looks at the joy on her son’s face as he sits with his new, and first, best friend. Folding her arms across her chest all she can do is shake her head. “I can’t believe we are the owners of a pet pig.”

Xxxxx

There’s a few minutes before the first warning bell, and Charles holds Tonya’s hand as he escorts her to what has become their morning meeting spot. It’s been just over a week since he confessed his love to her, and ever since the two have been virtually inseparable. It was becoming habit for them to meet in the cafeteria before the start of their day. Once together they would sit at a small table, staring longingly into each other’s eyes as they quietly talked. Every so often Charles would lean in and give Tonya a small kiss on her cheek, or the tip of her nose, causing her to blush and giggle. 

They would sit unaware of the eyes that watched them, undergoing severe scrutiny from their peers. There were hushed conversations as people slowly got used to Hillwood High’s newest couple. By the end of the first week they were on their way to becoming yesterday’s news with most people approving of the pairing and becoming bored with it. On this day, though, they are watched by a pair of eyes that are not so happy with this new relationship. 

Blake quietly sits, his eyes riveted on the new couple as his ears fill with the mindless chatter of his friends. He watches as Charles reaches out and brushes a bit of Tonya’s hair behind her ear before leaning in and giving her a quick kiss on her lips. The blush that creeps up to her cheeks does not go unnoticed by him. His jaw clenches causing a vein in his neck to stand out as his fist tightens on the paper cup he is holding causing the liquid within to spill out onto the table. Some of the liquid spills onto Justin’s lap, causing his friend to jump out of his seat.

“Hey, watch it Blake!” He yells as he grabs some napkins and starts wiping at his pants.

“Huh?” Blake absentmindedly says as he turns his head. “Oh, uh, sorry.”

Justin looks at Blake, following his gaze. “You still all bent over that chick hooking up with the class nerd? When are you going to let that drop? She ain’t worth it.”

Blake throws the crushed cup to the center of the table. “She made a fool out of me, Justin, and you know that no one makes a fool out of Blake Hadley.”

Jamie nudges Cameron in his side, causing his friend to snicker as he smirks towards Blake. “Aw, you’re just sore that she chose a computer geek over you.”

Blake turns towards his friend, giving him a hard glare as he starts to stand. “Say that again and I’ll beat the living shi…….”

Justin quickly gets up, placing a hand on Blake’s shoulder and gently eases him back down into his chair. “Now, Blake, you don’t want to go causing a scene, do you?”

Blake slowly sits down, his eyes never leaving Jamie, who in turn swallows a lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. He gives the other two boys a nervous glance before getting up and slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “Eh, I don’t need to sit here while you sulk over some sophomore ho. Come on guys, there’s got to be better things we could be doing.”

Cameron immediately gets up to follow his friend out of the cafeteria. Justin takes a moment to check on Blake. “You going to be okay, man?” He asks.

“Yeah, go on. I’ll catch up to you in class.”

Picking up his own backpack, Justin turns to leave. “Okay, if you say so.”

Finally left to his own thoughts, Blake turns his attention back to Tonya. He is surprised to see that she is now sitting alone at the table, her “boyfriend” apparently having left while he was glaring at Jamie. Grabbing his stuff, he stands up and takes a deep breath. Squaring his shoulders, he puts on his best nonchalant look and saunters up to where Tonya is sitting. Grabbing the closest empty chair, he turns it around and swings a leg over to one side. He sits down, hanging his arms over the top of the chair back and leans forward.

“Well, well, if it isn’t half of Hillwood’s newest “It” couple.” 

Tonya looks up from her half eaten Danish and gives Blake a surprised look. “Oh, uh, hi Blake.”

It’s the first time she’s talked to Blake since before getting together with Charles, and she feels bad for the way she handled things between them. “I, uh, have been meaning to talk to you.”

Blake raises on eyebrow. “About?”

“Well, about how I left things between us. I wanted to tell you about Charles and me but I’ve just never been able to find the right time.”

“Why would you feel you’d owe me any explanations as to why you’re suddenly hooked up with the class nerd? I don’t care who you do. It’s not like you ever meant anything to me.”

His plan is working and Tonya is beginning to become riled. Her voice raises a bit as she talks. “First of all, Blake, I’m not ‘doing’ anyone. And second, don’t act as if you had no feelings towards me. You may have been lousy at showing it, but I know you had some sort of feelings for me. I was feeling bad for how I’d been acting towards you, and I was going to apologize to you but you know what? Just forget about it. I don’t regret dumping you and moving on to someone better.”

Blake gives her a little laugh. “Dumping me? How can you dump someone that you were never a couple with? Believe me, Tonya, there was never anything between us. You may have been into me, but I never really cared all that much for you. You were just like any other ho at this school.”

Insulted at being referred to as a “ho”, Tonya reaches out, slapping Blake across his cheek as she stands. She points a finger into his face and talks to him through clenched teeth. “You are nothing but a lousy, two bit, dumbass jock. What a waste of time you were.”

Blake responds by laughing in her face. She fights the tears that threaten to come, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing that his words have affected her. With nothing left to say, she grabs her stuff and turns her back to him. He shouts out to her through a laugh as she briskly walks away.

“You just be careful not to go shouting out my name next time you’re screwing your new boyfriend!”

His laughter mixes with a chorus of giggles from the other students in the room as she walks out the door. She makes a beeline to the girl’s bathroom and it’s not until she’s locked securely away in a stall that she finally allows her angry tears to fall.

xxxxx

Arnold walks into the boarding house through the back door where he finds his grandmother standing at the stove working on the night’s dinner. After not having her cooking for so long, he wonders if he’ll be able to choke down whatever it is she’s preparing. He gives the air a sniff and is pleasantly surprised by how good it smells. He walks over to his grandmother, giving her a small kiss on her cheek.

“Hi Grandma, what smells so good?”

“Why Kimba, home so early from the deep, dark jungle?”

He gives her a smile. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly call the high school a jungle really, but no, this is the normal time that I get home.” He peers over her shoulder and his mouth starts to water as he sees a pot of fresh spaghetti sauce bubbling away in a pot. “Mmm, is that your famous spaghetti sauce?”

“It sure is, Kimba. I made it especially for you.”

He gives his grandmother another kiss before turning to leave the kitchen. “I can’t wait for dinner now! Do you happen to know where Helga and Phillip are?”

“Oh, Eleanor and the Prince are in the other room with Agnes. Yep, a fine pair those two make, there’s nothing better than a boy and his pig.”

Arnold couldn’t agree more with his grandmother as he goes off to find the rest of his little family. Entering the family room, he smiles as he sees both Helga and Phillip playing with Agnes on the floor while his grandfather sits on the couch watching.

“Aw, look at how nicely you’re all getting along, it’s as if Agnes has been a part of the family for years.”

Helga looks up to see her husband smiling down at her. “I wouldn’t go that far, Arnoldo, but I do have to admit that Phillip sure does love her.”

Arnold joins the three on the floor and as soon as he sits both Phillip and Agnes rush over to him, fighting for space in his lap. He laughs as Agnes reaches up, happily licking his face. He holds Phillip close, kissing his cheek. “Hello there Philly Boy, did you have fun with your new friend today?”

Phillip just laughs and claps his hands as he reaches out to pat Agnes on her back.

With Arnold home to relieve Helga of baby duty, she gets up and gives her husband a welcome home kiss. She stands looking at him as he divides his attention between their son and his new pig. “Well, I hate to leave this happy scene, but I really should go see if your grandmother needs any help in the kitchen.”

She leaves the little group to happily play and heads towards the kitchen. When she enters the hallway she hears a strange scratching at the door. Walking over to it she opens it and is caught off guard as a small pink pig with a black mark on its back comes rushing through the door, almost knocking her feet out from under her. She watches as the pig squeals down the hallway and up the staircase. Once over her shock, she gives a bellow.

“ARRR-NOLLLD!!!”

Hearing his name, he picks up Phillip handing him to his grandfather, and runs into the hallway.

“What? What is it, Helga? What’s wrong?”

Helga passes him by as she darts up the stairs. “What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong, What’s wrong is that somewhere upstairs is a rogue pig running around, that’s what’s wrong!”

“A pig? Are you sure?”

Helga throws her hands up in the air as she yells. “Yes I’m sure, I know a pig when I see one. Now come on, we’ve got to find it!”

Helga dashes upstairs with Arnold following closely behind her. At first they don’t see the pig, but then Helga notices that the door to their bedroom has been opened slightly. She and Arnold look at each other before quietly entering their room. They walk through the sitting area and into the bedroom. They scan the room when Helga suddenly lets out with an ear shattering scream.

“He’s rolling around in our bed. Get out of our bed you filthy swine!” She lunges for the pig as it quickly jumps off the bed and out the bedroom door. 

Helga rushes past Arnold. “Don’t just stand there, go after it!”

Once again Arnold follows an outraged Helga as they run down the stairs just in time to see the pig turn into the family room. A loud squealing can be heard as the two pig’s voices blend into one. Arnold and Helga run into the room to see Grandpa sitting on the couch with Phillip in his lap, both boys laughing at the two pigs that are running in circles on the carpet.

Helga pushes Arnold towards the pigs. “Move it, Football Head, we’ve got a pig to catch!”

The two adults are no match for the pair of pigs as they run about the room. After a few minutes Gertie comes into the room, to see what all the commotion is about. As she stands there, their uninvited pig friend runs up to her, hiding behind her legs. Gertie looks down and smiles at the pig.

“Why Patrick, how lovely of you to join us tonight. I do hope you’ll be staying for dinner.”

Helga gives Gertie a wide eyed look. “Patrick? You know the pig’s name?”

Gertie gives a mischievous smile. “Why, of course, dear. This is Agnes’s brother Patrick. He must have missed his sister to come all this way just to see her.”

Helga stands shaking her head. “Ohhh no, no, no, we are not keeping another pig! One is bad enough. I said okay to Agnes but there’s no way. No way are we keeping two pigs at the boarding house.”

“Oh, Eleanor, I’m sure Patrick only plans on staying a day or two. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Helga looks to Arnold for support and all he can do is give a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t see the harm if it’s only for a day or two.”

Helga narrows her eyes at her husband. “I know what will happen Arnold Shortman. Two days will pass, then three, then four. Pretty soon that, that, pig will be taking up a permanent residence here.”

“I don’t see a problem with keeping both pigs, Patrick will be good company for Agnes when we go out and have to leave them alone.”

Helga crosses one arm in front of her, the elbow of the other rests on top of her balled up fist as she rubs her forehead with her free hand. “Three days. He has three days to say hi to his sister then he’s gone. Do you hear me?”

A big smile spreads across Arnold’s face as he watches the two pigs happily playing on the floor. “I promise, Helga, no more than three days.”


	104. Chapter 104

It’s a bright, beautiful morning as Helga opens her eyes. She rolls onto her back, stretching her arms above her head. She looks over to her husband whose alarm has not yet gone off. It’s not often that she awakens before his alarm so she moves a bit closer to his sleeping form, enjoying the feel of his body being so close to hers. 

It’s been three days since Patrick showed up on their doorstep and today marks the last morning that she’ll have TWO pigs running around her feet causing her to trip as she tries to walk. The thought of Patrick finally hitting the road has put her in a good mood and she decides to take advantage of the little bit of time they have before Arnold’s alarm goes off. 

Reaching over him, she turns off his alarm and then gently rolls him onto his back. She’s thankful that Arnold is such a sound sleeper as she shimmies on top of him. She begins nuzzling his neck as she presses her body into his. After a minute he begins to stir as a little moan escapes him. Without fully waking up his arms automatically wrap around her as she lays on top of him, holding her even closer to him as his hips grind up into hers. As she places her forehead to his he looks at her through drowsy, half-lidded eyes. She nibbles on his bottom lip as his hands move to her hips, and he holds her there, savoring the wet warmth of her arousal. 

They become so engrossed in what they are doing that they don’t notice the door as it is slowly pushed open, nor do they hear the soft grunts of Patrick as he watches from the doorway. The movement on the bed picks up in intensity, piquing the pig’s curiosity and he wonders just what’s going on. From the noises they are making he assumes it must be some sort of a game which excites him, making him want to join in on the fun. 

With a wag of his tail and a loud squeal, he runs into the room, leaping onto the bed. He’s jumped with more force than is necessary and he lands in the middle of Helga’s back. With a scream, she immediately sits up, causing Patrick to slide down her back and onto Arnold’s legs. She rolls off her husband as Patrick does his best to regain his footing, but the softness of the mattress, combined with the movement of Arnold’s legs as he tries to move them, causes Patrick to lose his footing, resulting in a piggy face plant right into Arnold’s crotch. The impact of Patrick’s snout as it hits the Shortman family jewels results in Arnold pulling his knees tightly to his chest as he lets out a breathless moan. 

By now Helga has thrown on a nightgown and robe and lunges to the bed in an effort to catch the rogue pig and remove him from their bedroom. Seeing the angry human coming after him, Patrick gets to his feet, his back foot connecting with Arnold’s face as he runs to the foot of the bed where he jumps to the floor and out the door with Helga following closely behind him, arms waving frantically as she yells.

“Get back here you filthy swine!” 

The mixture of her shouts and Patrick’s frantic squeals is enough to pull both Phillip and Agnes from their deep slumbers. Worried over what’s happening to her brother, Agnes runs out of Phillip’s bedroom where she’s been sleeping, and falls in line behind Helga as she runs down the stairs after Patrick.

Having been the first one up, Gertie steps from the kitchen where she was beginning to prepare the family’s breakfast and stands in the doorway. She watches as first Patrick comes racing down the stairs, followed closely by Helga, with a frantic Agnes bringing up the rear.

“Let me at him!” Helga yells as her robe flows out behind her, her eyes shooting daggers at the frightened pig. 

Spying Gertie, Patrick makes a quick U-turn, practically knocking Helga off her feet. He runs to hide behind Gertie’s legs, his squeals echoing throughout the boarding house.

Gertie’s voice is calm as she does her best to calm Helga down. “Now Eleanor, what’s all the ruckus about?”

Still glaring at their uninvited house guest, she points a shaky finger at him. “He’s the ruckus!” She spits out. “Him and his penchant for always being in the wrong place at the wrong time!”

By now Arnold has made his way downstairs. With great effort, he slowly walks to the freezer, grabbing an ice pack. As he carefully sits down at the table, he places the ice to his quickly blackening eye.

Gertie watches him with wide eyes. “Kimba! Whatever happened to you?”

Arnold opens his mouth to answer but is abruptly cut off by his wife. “Patrick is what happened to him!” She points to her battered husband as she talks. “This is the last straw. The three days are up, I want that pig out of this house now! I don’t care where he goes, or what happens to him, I want him gone!”

On the word “gone”, Helga lunges once again at the terrified piglet, causing him to dart away from the protection of Gertie’s legs. Fighting for traction on the slick linoleum of the kitchen floor, he runs in place for a moment before his hooves grip the floor, propelling him out the door and into the hallway. Turning right, he hits the front door just as Arnold’s grandpa opens it to come inside from his task of retrieving the morning’s newspaper. He is greeted by Patrick who momentarily gets tangled in Phil’s feet, almost causing the nonagenarian to fall flat on his face.

Leaning into the cement railing of the boarding house’s front stoop, he watches as the pig runs squealing up the street. A harried Helga fast behind him.

“And stay out!” The woman yells as she stops at the corner, waving her balled up fist high in the air.

Turning back towards home, Helga stomps up the steps of the boarding house, giving Grandpa Phil a curt “’Morning” as she passes him by. Knowing better than to ask any silly questions, all Phil can do is chuckle as he follows Helga back into the house.

Reentering the kitchen, Helga walks up to her battered husband, placing a hand on his shoulder. She moves his hand from his eye, giving him a concerned look.

“Are you okay?”

He looks up at her, his one eye already showing signs of purple. “Yeah, I think I’ll make it.”

She discretely points to his crotch. “And your nether region?”

Arnold blanches a bit at the memory of Patrick’s snout connecting with his jewels. “It’s been better.” He says as he brings the ice pack back up to his eye. 

She kisses the top of his head and gives him a small smile. “You’re going to have fun explaining that black eye at work today.”

He gives a little snicker. “Heh, I’ll just tell anyone that asks that you got carried away in the bedroom last night.”

Hearing Gertie’s giggles coming from behind her, Helga’s cheeks turn a deep red. “You’d better not!” She says, then turns to face Gertie. “So, uh, Grandma, just how many pigs were there in that brood you rescued?”

Gertie taps a finger to her forehead as she thinks. “Oh, I’d say no more than ten or twelve.”

Helga’s face pales at her response. “T-ten or twelve?”

“Yep, but don’t worry, dear, I’m sure they’ve all found good homes by now.”

Helga and Arnold exchange a worried look, with Arnold whispering to himself as he readjusts his ice pack. “Lets hope.” 

xxxxx

With the morning’s fiasco behind her, and Arnold begrudgingly off to work, Helga hands Phillip off to his great-grandfather as she grabs her purse off of the kitchen table. She closes the front door behind her as she skips down the boarding house stairs. She looks up as she hums to herself, taking in the brilliance of the bright blue sky that is dotted with large, puffy clouds. She chuckles at the memory of Patrick as he went squealing down the street, ridding the boarding house of his presence for good. She’s decided the occasion calls for a special dinner and is on her way to Green Meats for some of their best pork chops. She makes a mental list of the other ingredients she will need for what has become her signature stuffed pork chops, and decides to also get a nice bottle of wine to go with them.

She’s pulled from her thoughts when she notices the backed up traffic that fills Vine Street. Following the line of idling cars she also notices that a large truck has plowed into one of the phone lines, causing it to block all lanes of traffic. The air is filled with the sounds of honking horns and angry voices of the people who are now unable to get to their desired destinations. With the lines of traffic gradually becoming longer and longer, she is happy to be traveling on foot and not by car as she continues on her way towards Green Meats.

Eventually she enters the small butcher shop and is surprised to find it void of people. The lack of customers doesn’t concern her, it’s more the absence of a store owner that causes her to look around with curiosity. It’s not like Harold to ignore the warning bell that signals the arrival of a customer. She figures he must either be in the meat locker, or the small upstairs apartment that used to be his home before marrying Patty. 

She gives out a quiet “Hello?” as she walks up to the shop’s display case. She’s got her eyes on a few prime pork chops when she hears Patty’s voice call out for help from the back of the store. Rushing through the double swinging doors, Helga enters the meat cutting area to find Patty leaning on the big butcher block table that sits in the middle of the room, using one arm for support. She has wrapped her other arm around her protruding belly and lets out a loud moan as she is hit with a strong contraction.

“Patty!” Helga yells as she rushes to her friend’s side, being careful not to slip in the puddle of amniotic fluid that is pooled around her friend’s feet. 

“Hold on, Patty, everything’s going to be okay. Where’s Harold? Why isn’t he here with you?”

It takes a minute for Patty to catch her breath before she can speak. “He – he went to help Sid move some furniture. He said he wouldn’t be long.”

Helga wonders how Harold could just leave Patty while in the midst of labor to help Sid. “You mean he just up and left you here in labor to go help Sid?”

“N-no, didn’t leave me.” She stops as another contraction hits. “Ahhh! H-he didn’t know labor had st-started. I didn’t know it was actual labor.”

Wrapping an arm around Patty’s shoulders, Helga leads her to a chair to sit down. “How could you not know you were in labor?”

“I have been having Braxton-hicks contractions for the past week. I – I thought that’s what it was this morning when I first woke up. Th-that’s why I told Harold to go help Sid. Then – ow, ow, ow, here comes another one!”

“Just relax and breathe.” Helga says as calmly as she can, not wanting to further stress Patty out any more than she already was. She waits for the contraction to pass before speaking. “Okay, now, tell me, you’ve called Harold to let him know you’re in labor, right?”

Patty gives a frantic shake of her head. “No, I tried but my cell phone is dead, and the shop’s phone isn’t working.”

“No, I’m sure it isn’t, not since a huge truck decided to plow into one of the poles, causing the lines to go down.” Helga says as she fishes through her purse to pull out her phone. Bringing up her contacts list, she finds the group chat folder she made back when Harold broke his arm snowboarding, and types out an A.P.B. letting everyone know what’s going on and asking anyone who happens to see Harold to tell him to get his ass back to the butcher shop pronto.

Turning back to her friend, she sees the look of panic in her eyes and is finding it harder to keep her own anxieties in check. “So, first thing we need to know is how far apart your contractions are. When the next one hits, I’ll start timing them, okay?”

Patty gives her head a nervous nod as she does her best to stay calm. After a moment she begins to feel a familiar tightening in her stomach. Placing her hands on her belly she begins to moan. “Ohhhhh, here it comes, and it feels like a big one.”

Helga takes her hand, forcing Patty to stare into her eyes. “Look at me, Patty! Okay, now, breathe through it. You can do this.”

Patty’s eyes stay glued to her friend’s as she does her best to remember what she learned in her birthing classes. After a bit the contraction subsides and she is finally able to relax.

“Okay.” Helga says as she checks her phone’s timer. “Now we wait. When I had Phillip they told me not to go to the hospital until the contractions were fifteen minutes apart. That should give us plenty of time.”

Patty lays back for a bit in an effort to save her energy for the next contraction. With a worried look on her face, she looks at her friend. “Helga, what if we don’t hear from Harold before the baby starts to come?”

“Then I will either take you to the hospital myself, or we’ll call an ambulance. Don’t worry, we’ve got this.”

As soon as the words leave her mouth, Patty begins to feel another contraction.

“Ohhhh, Helga, I’m not so sure that we’ve got this, here comes another one!”

Helga looks at Patty in disbelief. “What! It can’t be. That was barely ten minutes! It can’t be another contraction this soon!”

“Well, tell that to my uterus, cause it’s gonna be a big one! AHHHHH!”

“No, no, no, no, make it stop! You can’t be this close to delivering! There’s no time!”

Patty yells between breaths. “What, huff-huff, do you, huff-huff, mean make it stop? I, huff, can’t con, huff, troll this!”

With the contraction finally passing, Patty sits back in the chair as she tries to get a moments rest. Helga, in the meantime, paces the floor, throwing her arms up in the air as she talks.

“This can’t be happening. All I wanted was a few pork chops. All I wanted to do was have a nice farewell dinner to celebrate saying good-bye to that damn pig. I know nothing about delivering babies. An ambulance! That’s what we need, I’m calling for an ambulance!”

“I don’t know if there’s time for that, Helga, I feel another contraction coming on. How long has it been?”

Helga looks at the time on her phone and blanches when she sees the numbers. “S-seven minutes. It’s only been seven minutes since the last contraction. This is crazy. It took hours before my contractions came so close together. We’ve got to get you upstairs to the apartment. There’s still a bed up there, right?”

Patty gives her head a nod as she stands up. “Y-yes, the rooms still set up pretty much as it was when Harold was living there.”

Having Patty use her for support, Helga helps her upstairs to the small bedroom, and helps her to the bed. “Okay, you just rest. I’m going to call an ambulance and then I’m going to go get Arnold’s grandma. She’ll know what to do. Will you be okay for a few minutes?”

“Yeah, I think so, but, Helga?”

Helga looks into Patty’s pleading eyes. “Yeah?”

“Please don’t take too long.”

Helga reaches out, giving Patty’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry, I’ll go as quickly as I can. Just, just try to rest.”

Giving her friend a forced smile, Patty closes her eyes as she waits for the next contraction. It’s not until Helga reaches the shop’s front entrance that she hears Patty’s loud moan as she’s hit with another wave of pain. 

Helga punches in a quick 911 and listens to the ringing on the other end of the phone. By now the backed up traffic has doubled in length in both directions and she wonders if an ambulance will even be able to make it to them. As she approaches the boarding house her call is finally answered. She gives the person on the other end all the necessary information and is assured that an ambulance will be on its way shortly. Running up the boarding house steps, she bolts through the door calling out to Gertie as she absentmindedly places her phone on the entryway table. 

"Grandma, where are you? We need your help!”

She stops by the family room where Grandpa sits playing with Phillip and Agnes. He looks up at Helga with a tilt to his head. “What’s got your dander so riled up?” He asks.

“It’s Patty, she’s alone in the butcher shop. She’s gone into labor and we can’t get a hold of Harold. Her contractions are five minutes apart and I’m scared she’s going to pop that baby out at any minute! We need Grandma’s help, NOW!”

As if she’s been sitting waiting for her que, Gertie comes running down the staircase. She’s wearing Helga’s nurses uniform and is carrying a stack of clean towels. She yells to Helga as she passes her by.

“Come on Eleanor, there’s no time to waste, we’ve got a baby to deliver!”

Helga stands mortified by the fact that Gertie has found her little costume, feverishly praying that that’s all she’s found. She’s brought back to her senses as the woman rushes out the front door. Taking off after her, she tells Grandpa that she’ll be back as soon as she can, and thanks him for continuing to watch Phillip.

When they reach the butcher shop Helga is disappointed that the ambulance has not yet arrived and takes a moment to listen for sirens. Not hearing any, she continues on into the shop and up to the small apartment where Patty lays waiting. 

By the time she reaches the bedroom, Gertie is already by Patty’s side reassuring the girl that now that Florence Nightingale is there, all will be okay. Gertie – no, Florence, turns to Helga, spouting out her first set of directions. 

“Eleanor, go to the kitchen and put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. We’ll need lots of clean, boiled water.”

Giving her grandmother a nod of her head, Helga rushes to the kitchen to do as told. Once she has the water on to boil, she joins the two women back in the bedroom where she receives her next set of instructions.

“Now, Eleanor, I want you to find a pair of sharp scissors and some butcher’s twine, and put them in the boiling water.”

Doing as told, Helga runs out of the room and searches the small apartment for a pair of scissors. It takes a few minutes, but she soon finds them and places them into the pot of water. Next she looks for butcher’s twine. Not finding any in the apartment, she runs downstairs to the shop. She pulls a length of twine from the spool, wondering just how much will be needed. Playing it safe, she gives the twine an extra tug, pulling off a few more inches. Cutting it, she rushes back upstairs and places it into the now boiling water. She wonders why no one is getting back to her and reaches into her jeans pocket for her phone. Not finding it she curses herself for leaving it at the boarding house. She looks out the window to the street below, noticing that there is still no break to the gnarled traffic. Wondering just how an ambulance is supposed to make it through that mess, she goes to see what else she can do to help Florence. 

The sight that hits Helga as she steps back into the bedroom causes her to lean against the doorway for support. Her face immediately turning white. Having had a baby herself, she knew that the process was a messy one, but when she went through it, she was on the other side of things. What meets her eyes now reminds her of something from the latest Evil Twin movie. 

There before her, with all her glory laid out for anyone to see, is Patty, with her back leaned up against the headboard of the bed, legs bent and spread eagle as she sits, red faced from the effort of pushing what looked like the top of a bowling ball through a space that normally would accommodate nothing more than a large kielbasa at best. 

Helga lets out a little moan as her head begins to swim, causing Florence to look back at her. Without skipping a beat, she barked out Helga’s next set of commands. 

“Okay, Eleanor, this next task is very important. I need you to take this towel and carefully cut it into 15 strips no wider than an inch and a half, and no shorter than twelve inches. Then after you have all the strips cut, I want you to put them into the pot of boiling water for no less than two minutes. It’s very important that they stay in the water for two minutes. You got that?”

Helga gives her head a shake, tearing her eyes from the alien that is trying to escape Patty. She walks up to her grandmother-in-law, taking the towel. “Y-yes, 15 strips, no less than two minutes.”

Making her way back to the kitchen she goes about the task of cutting the strips. Every so often she gives a wince when she hears a pained moan coming from the other room. She wishes to God that Harold and/or the ambulance would get there. Once she’s cut the 15 strips, she throws them in the pot then searches for something to take them out with. Finding a pair of tongs she dips one end of them in the water to clean them before fishing everything out and placing them on a tray. 

As she fishes out the last of the strips she finally hears the bell that hangs over the shop’s door and lets out a breath of relief. The heavy thud of footsteps on the stairs herald’s in the arrival of Patty’s husband, followed closely behind by Sid. Helga meets the two in the small hallway.

“Where is she, where’s Patty?” Harold yells, a look of deep concern on his face.

“She’s in the bedroom with Arnold’s grandma. It’s about time you got here. What kept you?”

Ignoring her, Harold rushes to his wife’s side, leaving Sid to answer Helga’s question.

“We left my apartment as soon as we got your text. We tried to call you but the calls kept going to your voicemail. We were making good time until we got about three blocks from the shop. Traffic is a mess out there. We ended up finding a parking spot and running the three blocks. How’s Patty doing?”

“She’s holding up okay. Thank God Arnold’s grandma was home cause I don’t know if I could have handled delivering a baby on my own. I just wish the ambulance would get here.”

“Oh, we saw the ambulance a few blocks back. It got stuck in the stopped traffic.”

“Well let’s hope they make it here before………………”

Helga’s words are suddenly cut off by the sounds of a baby crying. Grabbing the tray with all of the needed supplies, the two make a beeline for the bedroom. Reaching the doorway they stand in awe at the sight of Patty as she holds her newborn baby to her chest, Harold sitting at her side. He turns to them, his face beaming with pride.

“It’s a boy.” He says through tears of joy. “We have a baby boy.”

Helga looks at Gertie as she starts to clean up the mess from the delivery. She’s about to say something to the woman when the small bell once again announces that someone has entered the butcher shop. Leaving the apartment to see who it is, Helga is relieved to find that the EMT’s have finally made it. With the traffic having cleared, Patty and son are loaded up into the ambulance with Harold still by their side. Sid heads off to retrieve his SUV while Helga and Gertie stay behind to clean up. 

Helga picks up the tray of supplies that she had so carefully worked on and brings them to the kitchen. Placing everything on the counter she apologizes to Gertie.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get these things to you in time. I hope you weren’t in too dire a need of them.”

Gertie gives a small chuckle. “Oh, that’s okay, dear. They weren’t really necessary.”

“What? Well, then why did you have me running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get everything together for you?”

“Why, to keep you busy dear. I could tell the moment you set eyes on Patty that a distraction was in order.”

Gertie gives a small cackle as she leaves the butcher shop, heading for home. All Helga can do is shake her head at the wily old woman and smile as she follows behind her.

xxxxx

A few days have passed with life at the boarding house finally turning back to normal. The gang has just come back from visiting the newest member of the Berman family and Helga sits in the living room once again regaling everyone with her side of what has come to be known as “The Great Butcher Shop Birth”. 

When she comes to the end, Gerald can’t help but to shake his head. “Mm-mmm-mm, I admit that that is quite a compelling story, but what I find even more fascinating is the fact that their baby has the same name as me.”

Phoebe shakes her head as she contradicts her fiancée “While it is a coincidence, I don’t find it very strange that they would want to name their child after its grandfather, and to include the name of someone that was so influential in helping Harold embark on his dream career is also very understandable.” 

“Little Gerald Martin Berman. I like it. I bet he and Phillip will become best friends.” Arnold says with a smile.

“Well lets’ just hope he has Patty’s personality growing up.” Helga says as she gets up to refresh her drink.

As she heads to the kitchen she is stopped in her tracks when she hears a familiar scratching at the front door.

“Oh, no!” She lets out. “Oh, no, no, no!”

“What’s wrong?” Arnold says as he sees the shocked look on his wife’s face.

Helga stutters as she points to the front door. “I-i-it’s that p-pig. He’s back.”

“Who, Patrick?”

Helga just nods her head as she points. “Yes, I’m sure of it.”

“I don’t know, Helga. I think you’re hearing things.” Arnold says as he opens the front door. Looking down he is surprised to see none other than Patrick looking back up at him.

“Well what do you know?” He says before practically being knocked off his feet as Patrick and three other pigs come barreling into the boarding house.

The trio of pigs rush past Helga and up the stairs as she takes off after them, fist held high in the air. “Oh no! Not again. You get back here, do you hear me!” She yells as she disappears upstairs.

Closing the front door, Arnold just quietly rejoins his friends without saying a word.


	105. Chapter 105

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we get started I just have to take a moment to dedicate the whole Seattlecon story line I’m starting here to fellow writer metalheadrailfan. This poor soul has put up with WEEKS of listening to me bitch and moan about wanting to do a con scene but not knowing what to write. Honestly, if there was such a thing, I’d present him with the Arnold P. Shortman Award for Patience. I swear the man is a saint! As a matter of fact, if there’s any of you artists out there that’d like to try their hand at designing such an award, I’d love a copy of it so I can officially award it to him.
> 
> Next I want to say that I mention a few other shows in this chapter and I really did try my hardest to come up with some cute alternate names, but everything I did come up with sucked so I’m just keeping them as they were written. Therefore, I must declare that I claim no rights to Hey Arnold, InuYasha, Harry Potter SVTFOE and, in further chapters, Dragon Ball and DBZ. Also, the Seattlecon in this story is of my own making so if there really is such a thing it’s merely coincidental and I wasn’t trying to exploit them. That’s all I have to say, so now, please enjoy…….

Helga sits in the middle of the family room couch watching as her son crawls around the room with a happy Agnes joyfully squealing behind him. To her right sits Petunia, Peter and Astrid, and at her feet lay Percy and Annabelle. Somewhere off in the distance she hears the pitter-patter of hooves as they meet with the kitchen linoleum, signaling to her that Arthur, Alexis and Priscilla have arrived home and had taken a detour to look for something to eat before rejoining their siblings.

It had started to become routine that every time Helga ran Patrick out of the boarding house he would eventually return with another brother or sister in tow. Eventually Helga learned her lesson and stopped chasing the pig altogether in an effort to stop the porcine headcount at ten. Arnold, having grown up with a menagerie of animals as pets, smiles widely as he sits down next to his wife. He gives a little laugh as he watches Phillip use Agnes for support as he lifts himself up to a standing position, only to fall on his bottom when the pig runs to greet him.

Reaching down, Arnold gives Agnes a scratch behind her ear, causing the pig to close her eyes and softly grunt in contented bliss. Helga looks at him with a raise to her eyebrow.

“Don’t get too comfortable with having all these pigs around Arnoldo.”

Much to Agnes’s chagrin, Arnold stops his scratching and looks at his wife. “What do you mean?”

“What do you mean, what do I mean? Don’t get too used to having all these pigs around. We’re not keeping them.”

“Why not? I think it’s good for Phillip to have a pet or two.”

Helga’s voice raises, causing Agnes to slink away. “A pet or two, yes, but not a whole farrow! We’re not a pig farm you know!”

“I know we’re not a pig farm. Ten pigs hardly constitutes a farm.”

Helga throws out a hand, gesturing to the pigs in the room. “Besides, I don’t even know if we’re zoned for one pig, let alone TEN.”

They turn their attention to the doorway as Phil and Gertie come walking into the family room. Arnold leans over to whisper in Helga’s ear. “We’ll continue this discussion later. Right now I’ve got to get my grandparents to the airport.”

That was another thing that bothered Helga, Arnold’s grandma taking it upon herself to free the pigs, then leaving town sticking them with the animals. She gives Gertie a slightly annoyed look when something at the woman’s feet catches her eye. Lowering her gaze, she sees Patrick sitting between Phil and Gertie with something pink and lacy hanging from his mouth. Taking a closer look she notices that he has pilfered a pair of pink panties from the laundry basket. 

Bounding off the couch, she makes a grab at Patrick but he is too quick and disappears down the hallway and up the stairs. She starts to go after him but is stopped when Gertie grabs her by her upper arm.

“Eleanor, dear, I do wish you could come to the airport with us.”

Helga looks over Gertie’s shoulder, watching Patrick rush off with her unmentionables. “Yeah, Grandma, me too, but I really do need to catch up on some work that I’ve let sit for way too long.”

Arnold gets up, grabbing Phillip from the floor, and brings him over to his great-grandparents. “Someone wants to say his good-byes before we take off.”

Gertie gives Little Phil a big smile as she takes him from Arnold. Holding him close, she gives him a big hug. “And you, my Little Prince, I’m going to miss you so much.”

Phillip gives a little giggle as he snuggles into Gertie. After a moment it’s Phil’s turn to say his good-byes. Taking Phillip from his wife he looks into the boy’s eyes.

“Well, Shortman, it was mighty fine finally getting to meet you. You take care of that mother of yours and try not to drive her too crazy.”

Phillip looks at the man he was named after and gives his nose a good squeeze, causing Grandpa to wince. “Oh hold on there Shortman, go easy on the merchandise. I’m not a spring chicken anymore you know.”

Arnold watches the interaction between his grandparents and son and a warm feeling runs through him. He’s glad for the time they’ve had together these past few weeks and wishes it didn’t have to end. He had brought up the idea of them moving back to the boarding house, but both Phil and Gertie were adamant that he and Helga needed their own space and had enough on their plate raising their son, and any other children that might come along.

Taking her son from his great-grandfather, Helga accompanies them out the front door to say her good-byes. Once they are loaded in the car she watches as the old Packard disappears down the street. Hearing a grunt she looks down at her feet to see Patrick staring back up at her, pink panties nowhere to be found. She looks at him through narrowed eyes.

“So where are you off to this morning?”

Patrick replies with a single grunt as he walks away, with Helga yelling after him. “I don’t care where you go, but don’t you dare come back with anymore brothers or sisters. Do you hear me?”

She watches as he turns the corner, snout held proudly in the air. “Lousy pig.” She mutters to herself as she heads back into the boarding house.

Having had enough for the day, she rounds up the others, swooshing all but Agnes outside. She places Phillip back on the family room floor and sits at her small desk, opening her laptop to turn it on. Pulling up her newest rough draft of Arlo’s Adventures, she gets to writing. After a few minutes there’s a quiet “Ping” as an instant message window pops up at the side of the screen. A smile spreads across Helga’s face when she sees who it’s from.

MysticalMaisy: Hey Pinkie!

PinkBowedPrincess: Misty! Wow, it’s been a long time. Sup?

MysticalMaisy: Not much. I was just wondering if you heard the news.

PinkbowedPrincess: No. What news?

MysticalMaisy: It’s about SeattleCon. The voice actors for SVTFOE are going to be there!

PinkbowedPrincess: You mean Eden Sher and Adam McArthur?? O.O

MysticalMaisy: Yep, and so are a few of the other actors like Rider Stroooooong!

PinkbowedPrincess: TOM!! OMG, I LOVE TOM!!!

MysticalMaisy: I know, right!!! My Frederick and I have decided to go this year. Oh girl, you have to come too!!!

PinkBowedPrincess: Idk, I doubt I’d be able to talk Arnoldo into it.

MysticalMaisy: Girl, you HAVE to! I’m dying to meet you, and what better place for a meet up than a con! Say you’ll go, pleeeeeeeeeeease! 

PinkBowedPrincess: Well, I can’t promise anything, but I’ll do my best and get back to you. OMG, Rider Strong!

MysticalMaisy: I know!! Okay, well, don’t wait too long to decide, we’ll need to make hotel reservations and stuff, and I’d hate for the con to sell out.

PinkBowedPrincess: Okay, okay, I’ll talk to Arnoldo tonight. Thanks for the heads up.

MysticalMaisy: NP, see ya Pinkie.

PinkBowedPrincess: Yeah, bye Misty!

Helga sits back in her chair and stares at the words on her screen. She thinks back to the first time she met Maisy in an online chatroom. It was back when she was in 6th or 7th grade and in love with an old anime that was popular at the time. She was in the middle of an argument where she was doing her best to explain why the characters Kouga and Kagome were much better suited for each other than the more popular Inuyasha/Kagome pairing. Even going so far as to cite exact scenes from particular episodes to back up her claims. 

She was outnumbered and about to lose the shipping war when she was rescued by what has become her oldest, and dearest, online friend. Once paired together, the two blew the other chatters away with not only their combined knowledge of the show, but also their ability to counter any point brought up by the rest of the room. They were, as the two liked to say, a match made in Heaven. 

They got along so well that neither one was surprised when they were sorted into the same Hogwarts house on a popular Harry Potter website. Yes, they wore the blue of their house colors proudly, and boldly stood by their declaration that Luna made a much better match with Harry than Ginny. 

The two would stay up nights, spending hours on different forums role playing not just their favorite characters, but original characters too. It was a side to Helga that no one, not even her best friend, Phoebe, knew about. Her online persona was always sweet, and feminine, a side to her that she could never show in her real life. It could be said that role playing was her escape, an activity that helped her keep herself together while the world around her failed her time and time again. 

She wasn’t sure how she was going to do it, but she was adamant that she and Arnold would be attending the convention in Seattle no matter what. She was a bit worried that she may have to agree to keeping all ten pigs, but it would be well worth it to see Arnold dressed as one Marco Diaz.

xxxxx

It was a pleasant drive to the airport as Arnold chatted happily with his grandfather, with Gertie quietly sitting in the back of the Packard looking out the window. As they drove through the neighborhood she took in the scenery as it whizzed by. She had spent all of her life in Hillwood before finally retiring and moving to Florida and the memories of her childhood came rushing at her in full force. She wondered if this would be the last time she’d see the town that she loved so dearly, or if God would be good, allowing her at least one more chance at a return trip. 

They passed the old Circle Theater where she and Phil had their first date. In her mind she sees herself and the love of her life slow dancing as Dino Spumoni croons out a melody up on the stage. That’s the night that her schoolgirl crush turned into a deep love for Phil, with her swearing to herself that she was going to spend the rest of her days by his side. 

Those were the days when they were young and had their whole lives ahead of them. When there was a fire in their souls and they were ready to take on the world. She sees her reflection in the glass window and wonders just where that young woman has gone. 

Her attention is brought back to the present when she feels the car finally come to a stop. They have reached the airport and Arnold has gotten out of the car to hold the door open for her. She reaches for her grandson’s hand and steps out of the car. She looks up into his green eyes and marvels at what a fine young man he has turned out to be. She loves Arnold, she loves him with every fiber of her being and doesn’t regret one second of having to spend, what should have been her leisure years, raising him. Their eyes lock for a brief moment, each one smiling at the other. She reaches up, placing the palm of her hand on his cheek.

“You’re a good boy, Arnold, and I’m very proud of you. I just wanted you to know that.”

A blush forms on Arnold’s cheeks as he gives an embarrassed smile. “I’m the way I am because of you and Grandpa, and I love you for it.” 

Anxious not to miss his flight, Phil gives a brief clearing of his throat. “Enough with the mushy stuff Pookie, we’ve got a flight to catch.”

Taking his cue from Grandpa, Arnold grabs their luggage from the trunk of the Packard and follows them into the terminal. After helping his grandparents check in, he walks them to security where he has to say his final good-byes. He’s sad to see them go, and makes a promise that next time it will be his and Helga’s turn to go visit them. 

The ride back to the boarding house is much quieter, the soft jazz from the radio fills the car with its soothing melodies. As he gets closer to home a flash of pink catches his eye. Turning his head to get a better look, he sees Patrick walking along the sidewalk with two new pigs by his side. 

“Well.” He thinks to himself as he steps on the gas in an effort to beat Patrick home, “Grandma did say it could have been 12 pigs that she rescued.”

xxxxx

Arnold sits propped up in bed waiting for Helga to drop the hammer on the whole pig situation. He was certain she’d blow a fuse once Patrick arrived home with his two new charges, but she’d hardly said a word. Then, all through dinner she just sat there, eating and talking about the newest adventures that she had come up with for Arlo and Hazel. She didn’t even yell when she caught Patrick rooting through the dirty laundry basket, her favorite bra perched jauntily atop his head.

He hears the bathroom door open and listens as her footsteps draw closer to the bedroom. She stands in the doorway to their bedroom now, wearing a slinky, pink nightie. It clings to her damp body, accentuating her curves, her nipples at full attention as the cool night air blows in through the open bedroom window. Her hair hangs down her back, it’s been toweled dry but is still slightly damp and leaves a few water trails down the back of her nightie. 

She slowly walks barefooted through the bedroom, turning off the main light, leaving only a small bedside lamp to cast its soft glow about the room. She slips into bed, sliding up close to him. She snuggles against him, the fingers of her right hand playing with his sparse chest hair. She places a soft kiss on his bare shoulder then begins trailing them to his neck. If he was wise and thinking with the head that sits between his shoulders he would probably pick up on the fact that there just might be an ulterior motive to her actions. Unfortunately for him, though, it is Little Arnold that is doing the thinking, and all rationality is thrown out the window. 

Her hand begins to rub circles on his chest now, every so often dipping down towards the waistband of his pajama bottoms. Her kisses trail up to his ear where she gives the lobe a little nibble. He takes in a quick breath when her hand finally disappears into his pants.

She finds Little Arnold, and gives him a gentle squeeze as she whispers in his ear. “So, I noticed Patrick found the last of his brothers and sisters.”

Arnold swallows hard. “Y-yeah, I guess he did.”

Helga moves even closer to Arnold, her hardened nipples pressing into his bare chest. “I guess it makes you happy to have the whole family together, huh?”

Once again Arnold finds he has to swallow the lump that’s formed in his throat before he can speak. “Uh, yeah, I guess so.”

Helga kisses his forehead as she slowly begins stroking Little Arnold. “It’s important, making each other happy, isn’t it?”

He closes his eyes as he savors the feel of her hand as it slowly slides up and down. “Oh yeah, very important.”

“You want to see me happy, don’t you?”

He brings his hand to her breast, gently squeezing as his thumb rubs across her nipple. “Definitely.” He says before pressing his lips to hers.

She breaks the kiss, running her tongue across his bottom lip. “So if I wanted to, say, have you go with me to a particular convention next month in Seattle, you’d go?” 

He lets out a small moan as her hand grips him a little tighter. “Oh, yeah.” He breathes, “Whatever you want.”

She looks deep into his eyes as her lips barely touch his and through a little pout she says “You promise?”

He gives his head a quick nod. “Yeah, I promise.”

She begins to kiss his chest, stopping to give his nipple a little suck. “And you’ll dress up with me and cosplay?”

Not really listening to what she’s saying, he finally grabs her by her shoulders, throwing her onto her back. Ripping the silky nightie off of her he mumbles his agreement before covering her mouth with his. “Yeah, sounds good to me, whatever you want.”

The subject is dropped for the night as Arnold removes his pajama bottoms, finally giving Little Arnold what he’s been waiting for. It’s not until the next morning when he runs what he can remember of their conversation through his mind that he realizes just what he’s agreed to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Umm, yeah, sorry about that last part, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.


	106. Chapter 106

Arnold follows closely behind Helga while she moves through the family room as she goes about some household chores. He’s hindered a bit by Perry and Amelia, the two newest, and final, members to their unorthodox family, when they keep getting tangled up in his feet. He flails his arms about him, seemingly ignored by Helga who continues to dust the various statues that sit on the bookshelf.

“It’s not right, you used unfair tactics to get me to agree to the convention.”

Helga stops her dusting and calmly turns to look at him. “Now, Arnoldo, you had the opportunity to say no. Is it MY fault that you answered me without thinking first? Also, if you’ll remember, you agreed to much more than just attending Seattlecon with me.”

Arnold holds his hands palms out to Helga as he shakes his head. “Oh, no, no way am I dressing up as some – some cartoon character, let alone walk around in public like that!”

“So are you saying you are no longer a man of his word? You did promise, you know.”

“What I’m saying, is that you can’t hold me to what I say when we’re in the middle of – of…”

She gives him a quizzical look. “Sex?”

“Yes.”

“So are you saying that all those times we’ve made love in the past and you’ve told me how much you love me, it was just the heat of the moment talking and that I shouldn’t believe you?”

“Yes-uh-no, NO! That’s different. You KNOW how much I love you, and stop changing the subject.”

Helga replaces the statue she was dusting and picks up another one. “You’re the one that said I shouldn’t hold you to what you say. Anyway, it’s not like you’d be the only one dressed up, the convention center is going to be filled with cosplaying fans. No one will even bat an eye at you. Besides, I think you’d look sexy with brown hair.”

“Brown hair? I never said anything about changing my hair color.”

“Yes you did.”

“When?”

“Right after we rested up from our first go around, remember, you were lying on your back and I was…..”

Arnold’s eyes widen as he once again throws his hands up in the air. “You were giving me head! How’s a guy supposed to concentrate on anything else with his wife’s face in his crotch?”

“Not my fault that you can’t multi-task.”

Realizing that he’s quickly losing the battle, Arnold lets his shoulders slump. “But, it’s, just so – so, nerdy.”

Helga turns on her heel to look him directly in the face. “And what’s wrong with being a ‘nerd’?” She raises her hands in an air quote motion to accentuate the word “nerd”. Arnold starts to answer her but is cut off as Helga pushes past him.

“Besides, you’re no Mr. Suave yourself, you know.”

“What are you saying, are you calling ME a nerd?”

She leaves the family room with Arnold close behind her. “If the shoe fits.”

As they reach the bottom of the basement stairs Arnold grabs her arm, turning her to face him. “Just what’s so nerdy about me might I ask?”

Helga throws the dirty dust rag on top of the rest of the dirty laundry and starts the washing machine. “Dude, for one, you are probably the only twenty-five year old man in Hillwood that spends his Saturday evenings watching old reruns of Lawrence Welk and his band croon out ancient songs from the 40’s and 50’s. AND YOU TAP YOUR DAMN FOOT ALONG TO THE MUSIC TO BOOT!”

“So I have an appreciation of big band music. Lots of people do.”

“Yeah, people who spend their days collecting social security pensions and hitting up IHOP for their early bird specials.”

“You like their pancakes too ya know.”

“Yes, I do, but not at four in the afternoon!”

“I don’t eat dinner at four in the afternoon and you know it.”

“Well, you would if you could. Now no more arguing, the subject is closed.”

Helga picks up the empty laundry basket and starts to walk upstairs as Arnold calls after her. “Well, you can force me to dress up, but you can’t make me wear a wig!”

With a hidden smirk, Helga talks over her shoulder. “Of course not, where are we going to find a wig big enough to fit over your football shaped head? You’re just going to have to dye your hair.”

Arnold opens his mouth to rebuke Helga’s last statement but is cut off by the slamming of the basement door. 

xxxxx

Denise paces back and forth in front of Tonya’s dressing room door as Tonya tries on what has to be the fifteenth dress so far that day. She talks to her friend through the closed door.

“Prom is one week away, I can’t believe you waited so long to start dress shopping.”

Tonya’s voice is muffled as she replies to her friend. “I couldn’t help it, you know all my free time was spent with the history tutor my mom hired. Honestly, Denise, if I don’t pass history I’m going to be stuck taking summer school and that’s the LAST thing I want to do. Especially since I finally have a boyfriend to spend my summer days with.”

“Too bad it wasn’t math that you needed help with, I’m sure Charles would have loved to be the one filling up all your free time instead of Caleb. It was making him jealous you know.”

Tonya steps out of the dressing room turning her back to Denise. “Can you zip me up? And who was jealous?”

Grabbing Tonya’s zipper, Denise give it a tug. “Charles, who else?”

Turning to face Denise, Tonya holds her arms out to the side. “That’s ridiculous, Charles isn’t the jealous type. So, how do you like this one?” 

Denise takes a step back and tilts her head to the side. “I like it, a lot. I think this one is my favorite.”

Tonya walks up to the three sided full-length mirror and studies herself from all angles. “You know, I think it’s my favorite too. Charles says he likes me in green, so he should love this too.”

“It does set off the reddish tones in your brown hair. So are we done shopping then?”

“Not quite, I still need shoes to go with the dress.”

Denise rolls her eyes to the ceiling. “Well lets’ hope that goes a lot quicker than dress shopping did.”

Tonya reenters the dressing room, closing the door behind her. “Hey, I didn’t complain when you dragged me not to two, or three, but FOUR dress shops before you found your dress. Remember?”

“You’re right, I shouldn’t complain, I’m sorry.”

Tonya reappears from the dressing room, dress in hand, and the two girls make their way to the cashier. After paying for the dress the salesgirl slips a thin plastic bag over it and hands it to Tonya. Laying it across one arm, the girls leave the little boutique and enter into the main part of the Hillwood mall. As they head towards the closest shoe store Denise reaches out, grabbing onto Tonya’s arm, stopping her from walking.

“Oh, great, just who we need to run into.” She says as she gives her head a quick nod.

Tonya looks to where the nod is directed to see three of Hillwood High’s most popular cheerleaders heading in their direction. “Criminy, its Suzie and her squad of losers. Maybe if we ignore them they’ll just keep walking past.”

“Ha, not likely.”

No sooner do the words leave Denise’s mouth when the three girls stop right in front of them, blocking their way. The five girls exchange stares as they size each other up. Suzie’s lips form into a smirk as she notices the bag that Tonya is holding. She takes a step closer to Tonya, and gives her long blonde hair a toss over her shoulder so it trails down her back. Her blue eyes fix on Tonya’s brown in an effort to throw the girl off her guard. 

“Well, well, what do we have here? Dress shopping for your prom date with the class geek?”

There’s a light flutter of giggles from Suzie’s two companions which is abruptly cut off when Tonya turns her head, giving them a death glare. Turning back to Suzie she takes a step forward, showing her that she doesn’t intimidate that easily.

“If you’re talking about Charles, then yes, I am shopping for our prom date.”

Suzie takes a step back, putting some space between them. “You really blew it, you know, choosing a loser like Charles over someone as popular as Blake. Everyone’s been talking behind your back about it.”

“If by everyone you mean yourself and your little clique of self-absorbed bimbos, then I really couldn’t care less.”

Tonya’s insult causes the girls to give out an angry huff, forcing Suzie to defend herself and her friends. “Bimbos! I wouldn’t be so quick to talk, not with the way you all but threw yourself at Blake earlier in the year. You know, it would have only been a matter of time before he dumped you anyway. Especially since he’d already gotten what he wanted off you.”

Tonya gives her a confused look. “What do you mean he got what he wanted off of me?”

“Oh, don’t play dumb, everyone knows about what you two did after the homecoming dance.”

“What? We didn’t do anything after the dance, he took me home and that was that.”

Suzie and her comrades share in a knowing look. “Sure, you can lie about it to try and hide it, but that’s not what Blake said happened.”

With Tonya being momentarily too stunned to speak, it’s Denise that asks the next question. “Just what is it that Blake said went on after the dance?”

“Well, the way he tells it is that you knew your parents were going to be out for the night so you took the opportunity to invite him in. Then once inside you took him up to your room and, well, need I say more?”

Tonya abruptly brings her hands to her face, dropping her dress to the floor. With a look of utter shock she begins shaking her head no. “What? No, that’s not true. I did no such thing! How – how can he say that?”

Denise begins to stand up for her friend. “Anyone with half a brain can see that that’s nothing more than a lie to get back at Tonya for choosing Charles over him.”

Suzie gives Denise a smug look. “Oh yeah? How do you know? Were you there?”

“Well, no, but…….”

“Then you have no proof that what Blake said was a lie.” She turns to her two accomplices and motions for them to follow her. “Come on, girls, I’m tired of this conversation. Let’s go get something to eat.”

The three of them head towards the food court, pushing Tonya and Denise out of their way as they pass. Still in shock, Tonya silently walks over to a bench to sit down. Picking up the dropped gown, Denise quickly follows her. Tonya looks at her friend through tear stained eyes.

“How could he do that? How could he lie like that?”

Denise reaches into her purse, pulling out a small pack of tissues. She talks as she dabs away Tonya’s tears. “Because he’s a big jerk, that’s how he can do that. His pride got hurt so he got back at you the only way a guy like that knows how. He lied so he’d come out on top.”

“I wonder how long he’s been spreading these lies about us. Did you know about any of this?”

Denise gives her head a shake. “No, and neither did any of the other girls, cause I’m sure they would have said something if they did. I’m sure it’s not as big a deal as you’re thinking, I’m sure it’s gone no further than his little tribe of followers. Besides, anyone that knows you knows that you wouldn’t do that. Right?”

“Yeah, right. I mean, I liked the guy at one time, yeah, but I would never be the one to initiate something like that. Oh, God, what if Charles gets wind of this? He’ll think I’m some sort of slut or something!”

Denise places a hand on Tonya’s shoulder hoping to calm her down. “He would never think that. Besides, he’s smart enough to see through a lie like that. He loves you, Tonya, and with real love comes trust. Yeah, there’s no way he’d believe anything Blake has to say.”

Tonya blankly stares at the passersby as they go about their shopping. Without looking at her friend she takes in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I hope you’re right, Denise.”

xxxxx

Gerald sits in a lawn chair in the Shortman’s backyard as Arnold grills some burgers on an old charcoal grill. He sips on a beer as he looks around the yard. Taking a headcount he looks at his friend. 

“I thought you had ten pigs. Where did the other two come from?”

“Patrick brought them home with him yesterday after I dropped my grandparents off at the airport.”

“And Helga’s okay with this?”

Arnold flips a burger as he thinks about the two new additions. He doesn’t want Gerald to know that he was duped into keeping the two pigs in trade for attending a weekend convention, so he doesn’t mention his and Helga’s conversation of the night before. He brings a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “Yeah, apparently she is.”

Gerald is mildly surprised at Arnold’s answer. “Huh, women. Just when you think you’ve got them figured out.”

“Uh, yeah, right.” 

Their conversation is interrupted when Helga joins them in the backyard with Little Phillip in tow. She hands him to his uncle before sitting in the chair next to his. “So, you two looked like you were in deep conversation. Care to fill me in?”

Gerald notices the look Arnold gives him and refrains from mentioning the pigs. “Oh, uh, we were just, um, wondering if the Sonics would ever make a return to Seattle. Right Arnold?”

“Uh, yeah, we were just wondering.”

Helga gives them an “are you crazy” look as she waves off Gerald’s comment. “Heh, they haven’t played for Seattle in like ten years. What makes you think they’d come back?”

Gerald takes a quick swig of his beer. “You never know, stranger things have happened.”

“Oh yeah, like what?”

“Like you two suddenly owning a pig farm.”

Arnold winces at Gerald’s mention of the pigs, a gesture that does not go unnoticed by Helga. She gives her husband a suspicious look.

“Twelve pigs don’t make a farm. Unless there’s something you happen to be keeping from me. We’re not the proud owners of anymore pigs, are we Arnoldo?”

“What? NO! There’s no more pigs now than there were last night.”

“There’d better not be, because our deal said nothing about anymore pigs.”

Gerald looks from Helga to Arnold. “Deal? What deal?”

Arnold is quick to answer. “Nothing, it’s – nothing, really.”

“What do you mean, nothing? It’s not nothing.”

Thoroughly confused now, Gerald asks once again. “What deal?”

Helga hooks a thumb in Arnold’s direction. “It’s simple, Arnoldo here agreed to attend Seattlecon with me next month in exchange for me letting him keep the pigs.”

A wide grin appears on Gerald’s face as he looks at his friend. “You, at Seattlecon? Oh, brother, now I’ve heard everything!”

Arnold replies through a pout, “I don’t see what’s so funny about accompanying my wife to a convention.”

“Arnold, Seattlecon isn’t just any convention. It’s THE biggest convention in all of Washington. And it’s not just comics, it spans the gamut, from cartoons to anime to video games.” He pauses for a moment before a new thought comes to him. “Oh – My – God, tell me you’re not dressing up!”

Arnold’s lack of a response is all Gerald needs as he holds his stomach while letting out a loud belly laugh. Phillip looks at his uncle, joining in. “Oh no, this is too good! You, Arnold Shortman, dressing up like some crazed Otaku and walking around a convention hall! Who are you going as, and please, let it at least be someone cool.”

Helga doesn’t wait and answers for Arnold. “He’s going as Marco Diaz from Star Versus The Forces Of Evil, and I’m going as Star Butterfly, with little Phillip there going as Tom.”

“A cartoon character? You’re going as a cartoon character? Man Arnold, I would think you’d at least go as something cool.”

A little insulted by Gerald’s total lack of respect for her favorite cartoon, Helga grabs Phillip from him, taking him to his highchair. “For your information, Star Versus Evil IS cool, and you’d better watch it or I’ll make you go as Glossaryck!”

Knowing better than to ignore a threat from Helga, Gerald makes the wise move and drops the subject. He joins her and Phillip at the picnic table with Arnold following behind with a platter of freshly grilled burgers. As the three sit down to dinner Gerald sneaks a peek at Arnold and gives a quiet chuckle. Arnold looks at his friend, a bright blush creeping up from his neck to his cheeks, and makes a promise to himself to not let Little Arnold do the thinking for the both of them ever again.


	107. Chapter 107

Tonya sits across from Charles at their usual table in the cafeteria. There’s still a good fifteen minutes before the first bell is due to ring and neither one is in much of a rush to start their day. Charles watches as Tonya silently stabs her fork into the cheese Danish that sits before her. He can tell that there’s something weighing heavily on her mind and wishes she’d open up about it. Taking a deep swig from his hot chocolate, he decides to get to the bottom of the matter.

“Sooo, you’re awfully quiet this morning. You feeling okay?”

Tonya stops poking at her breakfast and gives him a shrug of her shoulders. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound too convincing. Come on, Tonya, you’re not acting like yourself. What’s eating you? Did I do something wrong?”

Her eyes quickly dart to his as she shakes her head. “No! No, of course not. It’s not you, honest.”

“Then what is it? And don’t say nothing.”

She’s quiet for another moment and begins stabbing at her Danish once again. “I – don’t think I should tell you, you’ll only get pissed.”

“Well now you’ve really got me interested. Come on, spill.”

Putting her fork down, she slumps back in her chair. “Denise and I went prom dress shopping yesterday.”

“O-kaaay, and is that not a good thing? You have trouble finding a dress or something?”

“No, I found a dress, it’s what happened afterwards as we were leaving the store.”

Charles waits for her to continue, when she doesn’t he tries to get her to start talking again. “Aaannnnd? Are you going to make me drag it out of you or what?”

Taking a deep breath in, she lets it out and finishes her story. “As we entered the main part of the mall we ran into Suzie and her cronies. We tried to ignore them but they stopped right in front of us and wouldn’t let us pass. She started giving me a hard time about dumping Blake and going out with you, and we sort of got into a bit of a discussion. It was then that she told me what Blake’s been saying about me behind my back.”

Charles’s grip tightens on the paper cup that holds his hot chocolate, crushing it. The little bit of liquid that was left spills out onto his hand. He can feel his temper start to rise and does his best to control it. His words come out very slowly as he speaks. “And just what has Blake been saying about you behind your back that he can’t say to your face?”

Tonya gives Charles a worried look. “Now, Charles, I don’t want you going off the deep end over this or anything. It’s not that big of a deal and I don’t want there to be any trouble.”

Charles puts the cup down and he repeats his question with a bit more force. “What has he been saying about you, Tonya?”

Her eyes start to well up, showing Charles that it is, in fact, a big deal. “He – He’s been spreading rumors about me.”

Charles has a feeling that he already knows the answer to his next question, but he asks anyway. “What kind of RUMORS?”

Unable to hold back the tears any longer, a sob escapes her as she talks. “He’s telling everyone that I lured him back to my house after the Homecoming dance knowing no one would be home, and that I – I took him to my room and seduced him. He’s telling everyone that I threw myself at him and that we had sex.” She looks into Charles’s eyes pleadingly, “I didn’t do it, Charles, honest. Blake and I have never had sex, I’VE never had sex with anyone. You have to believe me.”

Charles sits and stares at her for a moment. He believes without a doubt that she is telling the truth. His hands hang clenched at his sides before he brings them up, pounding them on the table as he stands.

Seeing the look of fire in his eyes, Tonya stands and tries to stop him as he quickly leaves the table. 

“Charles, wait a minute!” She says as she grabs onto his upper arm. “Where are you going?”

He gives his arm a shake, releasing it from her grasp. “You don’t need to worry about that, Tonya. You just stay here. I have some business to take care of.”

“No, Charles, don’t! It’s not worth it, don’t go picking a fight with Blake, he’s twice your size, he’ll kill you!”

Charles stops and they look at each other. She can see the rage that is burning in his eyes. “I am not going to let him get away with this, Tonya. He needs to be taken down a size. Besides, don’t underestimate me, I can handle an ape like him.”

Without waiting for a reply, he turns and quickly leaves the cafeteria, with Tonya following closely behind. A few students that were sitting close enough to be privy to their little conversation immediately begin texting to their friends that the fight of the century is about to go down in the halls of Hillwood High.

xxxxx  
Arnold sits talking with Gerald in the small teacher’s lounge as they wait for the start of school. Being the good friend that he is, Gerald can’t help but to continue giving Arnold grief over his unwilling participation at Seattlecon.

“Man, Arnold, how could you let yourself get into a position like this?”

Arnold adamantly stands by his statement that Helga used unfair measures to get her way. “It’s not my fault, Gerald, Helga used unfair tactics.”

Gerald decides to joke with Arnold, not knowing that he’s actually hit the nail on the head. “Unfair tactics huh? What did she do, talk you into it while she was busy getting you off?”

Arnold averts his eyes, his deep blush giving him away. 

Gerald shakes his head as he laughs at his friend. “Oh, no, tell me she didn’t! Mmm-mmm-mmm, I can’t believe the girl would stoop so low, or that you would fall for it!”

“I couldn’t help it, I was busy concentrating on other things. How was I supposed to know that she’d take advantage of a situation like that?”

“Well, if you really don’t want to go, just refuse. Technically she can’t physically make you go.”

“I can’t do that, it means too much to her, and she’s really looking forward to meeting this one person.”

“That sounds mysterious, who is this ‘person’?”

“Some girl she met years ago online. Apparently they go way back. They met in some chat room and became friends.”

“Hmmm, sounds ominous. How do you know that she’s not some psycho who gets their jollies by luring unsuspecting fan nerds to meet them in quiet, out of the way places just to do them in and take over their identity?” 

Arnold gives him a “don’t be ridiculous” look. “I’m sure she’s not some psycho weirdo that wants to take over our lives. Besides, we’re meeting them at the Regency Hotel that’s connected to the convention center, which is hardly an ‘out of the way’ place.”

“Yeah, well, just don’t accept any offers to go eat at some out of the way bistro they just happen to know of. I don’t want to get stuck inheriting twelve pigs!”

Arnold is about to respond to Gerald’s remark when the two men hear a commotion begin to develop in the hallway right outside the teacher’s lounge. Looking at each other, they get up and run to the door. Opening it they step into the hallway just in time to see one Charles Larsen land a pretty good right hook onto the chin of a Mr. Blake Hadley.

xxxxx

Charles quickly walks down the hallway in a blind rage. His head darts back and forth as he searches out Blake. Tonya runs after him trying her best to keep up. She reaches out in an effort to slow him down but he’s quick to dodge her grasp.

“Charles! Charles, stop, don’t do this, please!”

“No!” He yells without skipping a step. “He will NOT get away with smearing your name across the school like this. He’s going to pay for what he’s been saying.”

Turning a corner, Charles finally sees Blake as he walks away from his locker, flanked on either side by a couple of his fellow goons. He picks up his pace, quickly catching up to the boys. He abruptly stops, calling out Blake’s name.

“Hey, Hadley!”

Hearing his name, Blake slowly turns around. Seeing who it is that has called him, he looks towards his friends and smiles as he crosses his arms in front of his chest. 

“Well, well, look who we have here. If it isn’t the town geek.”

Charles stops a few feet in front of Blake, he’s placed himself in front of Tonya in an effort to shield her from Blake’s stare. With fists still balled tightly at his sides, he speaks through a low, menacing voice.

“We need to talk.”

Blake takes a step forward and stares Charles directly in his eyes. 

“About?”

“About the lies you’ve been spreading in regards to you and Tonya.”

With his arms still crossed in front of him, Blake gives Charles a smug look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Just what is it that I’ve supposedly been lying about?”

Charles continues to stare Blake down as he takes another step forward. “Don’t deny that you’ve been lying about what went on after the homecoming dance last fall.”

“Heh, what makes you think I’m the one that’s lying? Everyone knows about how she’s been throwing herself at me for years. So I finally gave her what she wanted. I didn’t hear her complaining at the time. As a matter of fact, if I remember correctly, she kept begging me for more.”

A gasp can be heard coming from behind Charles as Tonya steps around him to yell at Blake. 

“That’s not true and you know it! Nothing happened after the dance!”

Charles reaches out, pushing Tonya back behind him where she stands glaring at Blake who directs his attention to her now.

“Stop lying, Tonya, you wanted it and you know it. I was happy just dropping you off but you were the one that took me up to your room. You’re the one that started coming on to me telling me how much you wanted it, admit it.”

By now a small crowd has formed around them with a few cell phones scattered about filming the scene before them as it unfolds. Tonya is crying once again, shaking her head as she denies everything Blake is saying.

“NO! That’s not true! I didn’t come on to you and you know it!”

Charles’s chest begins to heave with each breath he takes as he does his best to control his temper. A growl escapes him as he talks, his words are controlled and precise. “I’m going to ask you one more time to take back everything you’ve been saying about Tonya.”

Blake laughs in his face. “HA! And if I don’t? What are YOU going to do?”

“I swear, I will beat you to a pulp.”

“Ohhh, that’s a good one if you think a wimp like you could even touch someone like me.”

The two boys stand a mere inches apart now, neither one taking their eyes off the other. Blake leans forward as he talks. “Like I said, there’s nothing to take back. Face it Nerd Boy, you’re girlfriend’s nothing but a whore, and I can assure you, I was obviously not her first.” He turns to look at Tonya. “Was I, Tonya?”

Seeing the devastated look on her face causes him to laugh again. “Heh, and you liked it, didn’t you, Tonya? Yeah you did, you liked it nice and hard, especially when I pounded you from behin………..”

Drawing from a childhood of basement boxing lessons given to him by his dad, Blake’s words are cut off as Charles plants his fist into the boy’s jaw, causing him to take a stumbling step backwards. The force of the blow catches Blake off guard and before he has a chance to strike back Charles strikes out again, this time hitting him just below his left eye. 

Blake’s friends catch him, keeping him from falling to the ground, giving him the split second he needs to come to his senses. Furious that he’s allowed Charles to land a punch on him it’s his turn as he sinks his fist deep into Charles’s stomach, causing the boy to bend slightly forward. Not letting up he lands a punch to Charles’s face. 

Pulling his arm back, Blake lets go with a second punch. Charles dodges it, causing Blake’s fist to connect not to his face, but to the face of one Mr. Gerald Johannsen.

There is a collective gasp from the crowd the second Blake’s fist hits Gerald’s face. Too engrossed in the fight, Charles doesn’t notice the two teachers and takes another lunge at Blake. He is stopped short by Arnold who grabs him from behind, turning him in an effort to put himself between the feuding boys. By now a very pissed, very sore, Gerald has grabbed Blake by the arm, twisting it behind the boy’s back.

“Okay, break it up!” Arnold yells as he continues to hold Charles at bay.

The commotion has pulled Principal Dunn from his office and he has to push his way through the crowd in an effort to find out just what is going on.

“Step aside, let me through!” He yells as he makes his way to the center of the crowd.

Both Blake and Charles still struggle in an effort to get to the other, with Arnold and Gerald continuing to hold them back.

“I demand to know what’s going on here!” Dunn shouts as the spectators stand quietly, not wanting to miss anything that’s being said.

Blake looks at Dunn, wanting to get his side of the story in first. “I was just walking down the hall with my buddies, minding my own business when this asshole attacked me out of nowhere and for no good reason.”

“That’s not true!” Charles yells and he tries to break free from Arnold’s grasp.

“Yes it is!” Blake spits back.

“Okay, enough!” Dunn yells, quieting the boys. “I can see we’ll have to settle this in my office. Mr. Shortman, Mr. Johannsen, I would greatly appreciate it if you would accompany these young men to my office. 

Holding each boy firmly by an upper arm, Arnold and Gerald drag their charges behind them, with Gerald using his free hand to rub his sore chin. 

Dunn turns to address the crowd of bystanders. “As for the rest of you, don’t you have classes to get to?” 

With no one wanting to join the two boys in Dunn’s office, the group of teens slowly disperse, heading to their classes. The mere fact of a teacher actually being punched in the face by a student is hot news, and videos of the fight are quickly texted to friends by those students quick thinking enough to have their cell phones out and at the ready, with a few already being posted to various Facebook accounts. The unfortunate altercation is already being dubbed “The Fight of the Century”, and is sure to be talked about for at least the next few years.

Standing alone in the middle of the now quiet hallway, Tonya is torn between following Charles to Dunn’s office and heading off to class. She watches as he and Arnold disappear into the crowded office, not looking away until Dunn finally enters, closing the door behind him. Not wanting to cause any more problems, she makes the decision to head to class, hoping to catch up with Charles after school.

By the time she reaches her class, most of the students have heard about the fight and all eyes sit fixed on her as she makes her way to her seat. She hears the whispers and giggles as she passes each student on the way to her desk. Once seated all hushed conversation is quieted when the teacher clears her throat, bringing the attention to her and thankfully off of Tonya.


	108. Chapter 108

The room is quiet as Principal Dunn enters it, closing the door behind him. Without speaking he walks to his desk and takes a seat. He silently scowls from one boy to the other for a dramatic effect in hopes that it will relay the severity of the situation. Neither Charles nor Blake take any notice, though, as they sit glaring at each other, both with arms crossed defiantly in front of their chests. 

Arnold stands behind Charles and watches Gerald as he rubs his bruised chin. The two men roll their eyes at each other conveying the mutual sentiment that neither of them have time for this mess. Gerald is furious at Blake and knows that nothing good can come out of his mouth right now, so, seeing that neither boy is going to attack the other, he makes an attempt at escape.

“If everything’s under control here, I really should be getting to my class. My students are going to be wondering what happened to their teacher.”

Principal Dunn looks at Gerald, waving his hand towards the door. “Uh, right, that’s fine Mr. Johannsen, I think Mr. Shortman and I can handle this, but I will want you present when Mr. Hadley’s parents come to pick him up, I will arrange to have someone watch your class when they get here.”

Agreeing, Gerald is just glad to be out of there and mouth’s a quick “I’m sorry” to Arnold as he rushes out the door. Arnold responds by rolling his eyes in a “Yeah, right” manner before turning his attention back to Dunn. There’s another moment of strained silence before the man finally speaks.

“Now I’m sure you boys know that fighting is not tolerated here at Hillwood High, correct?”

Neither boy answers as they continue glaring at each other, which only pisses Dunn off more. Raising his voice he slams his hand down onto his desktop, the sound of which finally brings the boy’s attention to him.

“When I ask you a question I expect to be answered!” 

Blake does little to hide his annoyance as he speaks out. “Yeah, yeah, we know, Hillwood High, a zero tolerance school, one strike and you’re out on your ass.”

Arnold rolls his eyes at Blake’s stupidity as Dunn does his best to assert his authority. “Watch your language when you speak to me young man!”

“Heh, sorry, one strike and you’re out on your BUTT.”

“That’s better. Now would one of you like to tell me what it was that caused the two of you to act out the way you did?”

Knowing that in their own way they were both in the wrong, and not wanting any adult interference into their business, the two boys go back to just staring at each other. Neither one willing to give out any information. 

This frustrates Dunn, making him madder than he already was. “Okay, so if this is how you’re going to play it, then I have no choice but to suspend the both of you from school and all its activities, starting right now.”

Blake is the first to receive his sentence. “You, Mr. Hadley, have earned yourself a three week suspension for striking a teacher and participating in a fight on school grounds.”

Blake opens his mouth to complain but Dunn cuts him off, pointing a finger at him as he speaks. “If you wish to make it longer go ahead and say what’s on your mind, but realize that because we are so close to the end of the school year I’m going easy on you, I could have you completely expelled if you’d rather.”

Worried about what an expulsion would mean to his place on next year’s football team, Blake is wise enough to keep his mouth shut. 

Turning to Charles now, the smug look that formed on his face at Blake’s suspension melts away as he receives his sentence.

“As for you, Mr. Larsen, you have earned yourself two weeks suspension for fighting on school grounds.”

At this announcement Charles finally finds his voice. He jumps up and Arnold places a restraining hand on his shoulder, easing the boy back into his chair.

“What! You can’t do that, prom is this Saturday. That’s not fair.” 

“Well you should have thought about that before breaking school rules and fighting in the halls.” He directs his next statement to both boys. “And I will be speaking with both of your parents when they come to pick you up from school.”

Although he, too, is slightly upset at missing out on prom, Blake can’t help but smirk at the fact that their little altercation has ruined Tonya’s plans for her big night. He lets his amusement be known as he directs a little chuckle in Charles’s direction. Seeing the look on Blake’s face, it takes every ounce of self-control to keep Charles from attacking the guy right there in Dunn’s office. Noticing the tension, Arnold places a calming hand on Charles’s shoulder.

Feeling that the matter is finally settled, Dunn has Arnold sit with the boys in the attendance office while he calls their parents to come pick them up. Feeling he would be shirking his duties as school councilor if he didn’t at least try to get the boys to reconcile, he tries to find out what it was that caused the fight.

“Okay, guys, what gives? I know you two didn’t just decide to start duking it out for no reason.”

Charles looks at Blake. Not wanting Blake’s lies to be spread any further, he shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter, we’re suspended anyway so you knowing what the fight was about won’t make any difference.”

“That’s true, but you two should talk it out anyway, so you can come to some sort of an agreement and put the matter behind you.”

Charles looks at Blake. “This matter will never be put behind us.”

Blake rolls his eyes at Charles. “Geeze, what a drama queen.” He places the back of his hand against his forehead as he mimics Charles. “Ohhh, this matter will never be put behind us.”

“Shut up, Blake.”

“Oh yeah, make me, we’re already suspended, what’s another week.”

Charles starts to get up but Arnold reaches out, placing him back in his seat. “Don’t fall for his taunts, Charles, it’s not worth it.”

Blake lets out a laugh. “Yeah, Charles, your whore of a girlfriend isn’t worth it.”

Seeing the death stare in Charles’s eyes, the reason for the fight finally dawns on Arnold.

“A girl? This whole thing is over a girl?” He closes his eyes as he pinches the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger and thinks to himself. “That figures.” 

“Not just any girl.” Charles yells, “She’s MY girlfriend and he’s just jealous she chose me and not him.”

“I am NOT jealous that you’re going out with the school whore.”

Charles speaks through gritted teeth. “Say that again and I swear I will kill you.”

“Did you hear that, Mr. Shortman, Charles just threatened my life, what are you going to do about it?”

Completely frustrated it’s now Arnold’s turn to raise his voice. “Okay, enough! You two are going to stop this right now, do you hear me?” He points a finger towards Blake. “You, Mr. Hadley, are going to stop talking that way about his girlfriend.”

Never knowing Arnold to ever lose his temper before, Blake shuts up and just nods his head. Turning towards Charles, Arnold now addresses him. “And you, Mr. Larsen, are going to refrain from making empty threats to people, understood?”

Charles slumps down in his chair and gives Arnold a quiet “Yes sir.” 

“Good. Now, no more talking from either of you until your parents get here. Oh, and you can both be sure that I will be seeing both of you, with your parents, in my office before you return to school. Got it?”

Both boys give each other one last look before mumbling a combined “Whatever.”

xxxxx

Class seems to be dragging on for days as Tonya watches each agonizing tick of the clock’s minute hand make its way towards the hour. She felt a little better once the giggling had finally settled down, but she was still worried over how much trouble Charles had gotten himself into for picking a fight with Blake. Not that Blake didn’t deserve to be punched in the face, she just wished it hadn’t been done on school grounds.

She was beginning to think she wouldn’t be able to take it much longer when the bell finally rings. Gathering up her stuff she pushes past the other students and makes a beeline for the door, eliciting a few “Hey, watch it’s” from those unfortunate enough to get in her way. Once in the hallway she heads to Charles’s last class, hoping to catch him before he goes into the room. She looks up and down the hallway as students file into the classroom, finally giving up once the tardy bell rings. Wondering where he could be, she makes a detour on her way to class, passing by the Principal’s office. She’s glad to see that the door is open but is disappointed when she peeks inside, only to find it empty. 

Giving up, she pulls out her phone, shooting Charles a quick “where are you” text, then puts her phone on silent as she enters her classroom. Apologizing for her tardiness, and making the excuse of being in the bathroom, she passes by Denise and Gina who give her puzzled looks. Once seated Denise quietly whispers to her.

“Where’ve you been, class started over five minutes ago?”

“I was looking for Charles. Have you seen him?”

Denise gives her head a shake. “No, did you try calling him?”

Tonya is about to answer when she is called out by the teacher for talking.

“Is there a problem, Tonya?”

Looking up Tonya gives an embarrassed, “No, ma’am”, and with her phone hidden in her lap, she spends the next hour between trying to keep up with what the teacher is saying, and looking at her phone screen.

Tonya’s concern turns to worry when Charles doesn’t show up for his last class of the day either. Again the minutes drag by while Tonya awaits the final bell of the day. When it finally rings she rushes to her locker where Denise is waiting for her.

“Tonya, what the hell happened this afternoon? It’s all over the school that Blake and Charles got into a fistfight. I even heard that Blake punched Mr. Johannsen in the face!”

“Oh, Denise, it was horrible.”

“What caused it, do you know?”

Casting her eyes to the floor, Tonya nods her head. “Yes, unfortunately, I do. I told Charles what Blake’s been saying about me and he just sort of went ballistic.”

“What? I thought you said you weren’t going to tell him.”

“I know, but, well, he could tell something was wrong and he just kept on asking me until I cracked and told him. I feel just awful, like this is all my fault.”

Placing a hand on Tonya’s shoulder, Denise does her best to comfort her friend. “No it’s not, Tonya. With the way gossip travels around this school he was bound to hear it from someone. Besides, it was better for him to hear it from you than through the rumor mill.”

“I guess you’re right.” A small smile comes to her face. “You should have seen him, Denise, I had no idea that he knew how to fight. If it hadn’t gotten broken up I think he could have had a good chance of beating Blake.”

“Now that I would have liked to have seen. So, is it true, did Blake really punch Mr. Johannsen in the face?”

Unable to help herself, Tonya lets out a small giggle. “He sure did, and you should have seen the look on Mr. Johannsen’s face when he did, it was golden, he was furious. Anyway, I really do need to find Charles, he’s not answering any of my texts.”

“Okay, call me tonight and let me know what’s up.”

Nodding her head, Tonya says a quick good-bye before heading over to Charles’s house. Once there, she knocks on the front door. When there’s no response she steps back and gives a shout.

“I know you’re in there, Charles. I’m not going away until we talk, so you’d might as well open up!”

There’s a brief moment when she starts to think that she is wrong and he isn’t there before the doorknob begins to turn. It opens, revealing a slightly battered Charles on the other side. He’s got a black eye, and a bandage is wrapped tightly around his right hand. He steps to the side, allowing Tonya entrance into the house.

Once inside she drops her backpack to the floor and reaches out, placing a hand on Charles’s cheek.

“Oh, Charles, are you okay? Your eye is practically swollen shut.”

Charles gives a shrug of his shoulders. “Eh, I’m alright. My hand’s a bit sore from punching Blake’s face, but it was worth it.”

The couple move into the family room where they sit together on the couch. Tonya picks up Charles’s bruised hand, holding it gently.

“So what happened in Dunn’s office, how much trouble are you in?”

“Well, Dunn yelled at the two of us for a bit before dropping the bomb.”

“Uh-oh, is it bad?”

“I’ve been suspended for two weeks. It’s really not fair, especially since this whole thing is Blake’s fault for starting those rumors.”

“Oh, Charles, I’m so sorry, but what did you think would happen? You can’t just start fighting in the hallways without some sort of repercussions. What about Blake, is he suspended too?”

Charles gives a small chuckle. “Heh, yeah, he got three weeks cause of him hitting Mr. Johanssen in the face.”

“It’s not funny, Charles. He hit a teacher, I’m surprised his suspension wasn’t longer.”

“Yeah, well, I think three weeks is the maximum Dunn can give without having to make a big old thing of it. You know, any longer and the school board gets involved and stuff. I think he was trying to avoid all that. But, I’m afraid my two week suspension isn’t the worse part.”

“Oh? Why, what else did he throw at you?”

“Well, it seems the suspension isn’t just from class. Unfortunately it includes all school functions, which means Blake and I are both banned from prom.”

Tonya has the same reaction to this news as Charles did. “What? They can’t do that, it’s not fair. You’ve already bought the tickets, and I’ve bought a dress and everything. How can they do that?”

“Easy, they hold all the cards, their school, their rules. I’m really sorry, Tonya. But just because I’m banned from going doesn’t mean you can’t go. I still have the tickets, you can find someone else to go with you if you want.”

“What? No, I don’t want to go with anyone else.” She slumps back into the sofa, a small pout forming on her face. “If you can’t go then I won’t go. We’ll just do something else that night, unless, you’re not totally grounded are you? What do your parents have to say about all this?”

“Well, it was my dad that left work to come get me. As you can guess, he wasn’t very happy, but he had to get back to work so we didn’t talk much about it. He said he and my mom are going to discuss it first and then they’ll both talk to me. I think that once they hear the whole story as to why I got so mad they might take pity and go easy on me. They’re pretty understanding, and have this thing about standing up for what is right.”

He looks at Tonya, and feels bad that he has let her down. Bringing up his good hand, he brushes some hair behind her ear before hooking his finger under her chin, lifting her face to his.

“I’m so sorry I’ve ruined our big night, but don’t worry, it’s going to be okay, I’m sure of it. We’ll do something, just the two of us. It’ll be great, you’ll see.”

She gives him a small smile as he leans in, gently placing his lips to hers. She sighs softly as they kiss, temporarily forgetting the day’s troubles.

xxxxx

It was a quiet dinner as Blake and his parents sat and ate in silence. Unfortunately for him the menu for that night was roast beef, which he found difficult to chew with a bruised jaw. At the end of the meal, his mother refills her wine glass for the third time and takes it with her to the family room, where she sits, going over some work she had brought home with her. As the maid starts clearing the dinner table, Blake’s dad orders him to go wait for him in his study. 

Blake sits now in an overstuffed chair as he waits for his father to join him. He studies the bookcase that is built into the wall that’s in back of his father’s desk. His eyes scan the various football trophies that have been acquired over the years. On the upper shelves are those that belong to his father. Spanning from high school through college, with achievements ranging from star quarterback to team MVP. On the shelf below that are his older brother’s trophies, each one an almost exact duplicate of his father’s. Dropping his eyes one more level, he sees the few trophies he’s been able to achieve so far in his short time at Hillwood High. Again he feels lucky for the mere suspension and not the total expulsion that he could have gotten for hitting a teacher.

He gives a little jump when he hears his father’s footsteps behind him. He waits as his father quietly sits in his chair at the opposite side of the big oak desk. Blake lowers his gaze in embarrassment as his father’s eyes bore into him, his stomach giving a nervous flip, his freshly eaten dinner threatening to make its way back up his esophagus. After a few grueling minutes he winces as his father’s voice fills the quiet room.

“I’m sure I don’t have to point out the stupidity of your actions today. What in God’s name were you thinking, getting into a fight at school, and hitting a teacher no less!” 

Blake makes a feeble attempt to defend himself. “It wasn’t my fault, I didn’t start it.”

He’s cut off by his dad’s anger. “It doesn’t matter who started it. What matters is that you, like an idiot, participated in it! Did you not stop to think about the consequences of your actions?”

“No, I – “

“That’s right, you didn’t. It’s bad enough that you get into a fight, thus staining your record, but that’s not enough. Oh no, YOU HAVE TO GO AND HIT A GODDAMNED TEACHER ON TOP OF IT! Did you not THINK about how that could jeopardize your position on next year’s football team? Not to mention the fact that if the teacher wishes he can press charges and you could find yourself hauled off, not to juvenile hall, but to jail! In this state you’d be tried as an adult!”

“No, I –“

“Again, no, you didn’t! Nor did you think about how this will affect me or your mother.”

“How does this affect you?”

“Really? You’re going to ask a stupid question like that? Your actions have already affected me by making me take time off from work to come pick up your sorry ass from school. And now one or both of us are going to have to take even more time off of work to meet with the school’s principal and the teacher you hit before they’ll let you back in. That’s how it’s affecting us!”

“I’m sorry, I –“

“I don’t want to hear any of your weak apologies. You’d just better hope they let you start as quarterback next fall.”

Having had enough of his father’s attitude, Blake begins to develop one of his own.

“Don’t worry about the precious team, all they’re concerned about is winning, so there’s no way coach will put anyone else in as quarterback.”

His father points a finger at Blake’s face as he speaks. “You’d better hope so. And don’t think you’re getting off easy, I’ve already hired a tutor to work with you these next three weeks that you’re on suspension. You will NOT get behind in your studies, do you hear me?”

Blake’s eyes never leave his father’s. “Yeah, I hear you, loud and clear.”

“Good. Now, thanks to having to pick you up from school, I have to spend the rest of my night catching up on work. So you can just go to your room, and I don’t want to see you for the rest of the night.”

Getting up, Blake stifles the urge to lunge across the big desk and plant his fist into his father’s face. Instead, he grunts a quiet “whatthefuckever”, and heads to his room slamming the study door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so while I was writing the part about Dunn wanting to assert his authority, I wanted soooo badly to write it in Cartman’s voice from Southpark. “You will respect my authoritah!!” I almost inserted a little note bringing up the Southpark reference there but restrained myself because I didn’t want to interrupt the flow of the story. But now that I’ve mentioned it I bet you can’t go back and read it without hearing Cartman’s voice. Anywho, I’d love to hear what you have to say about this little story of mine.


	109. Chapter 109

Phillip sits in his highchair kicking his legs as he bounces up and down in his seat. His face is smeared with spaghetti sauce, a couple cut up strands of pasta hang from his chin. In one hand he holds a spoon that he continually bangs on the tray he sits behind while he licks sauce off the fingers of the other. His highchair is surrounded by at least eight of the twelve baby pigs who cast their faces upwards in an effort to catch the manna that falls from above. The young boy grabs a handful of pasta, giggling as he leans over the side of his seat. Opening his hand, he watches as a pile of mushed up pasta lands smack dab on the top of Priscilla’s head, causing Percy to immediately jump on her in an effort to lick it off. Giving a squeal, Priscilla wiggles out from under Percy and runs towards the kitchen door. Percy follows close behind, grunting as he tries to retrieve his snack. The two pigs tangle in Arnold’s feet as he and Gerald enter the kitchen, washed up and ready for dinner.

As the boys sit, Helga pours them each a glass of red wine. She looks at Gerald’s chin with concern.

“That’s quite a cut Blake gave you, are you sure you don’t want some ointment or something for it?”

Gerald brushes off her concern with a wave of his hand. “Nah, it’ll be okay, I had the school nurse take a look at it before I left for the day.”

“Well, it’s a good thing we’re having spaghetti tonight and not something chewy like steak.” She says as she swipes a wet washcloth across her son’s face.

Arnold gives a little chuckle at his friend, causing Gerald to turn towards him. “And just what do you find so funny? Hmmm?”

“Nothing, it’s just, well,“ Arnold continues to giggle as he looks at Helga. “You should have seen the look on his face when Blake hit him, it was priceless. I thought he was going to haul off and return the punch.”

Gerald gives a little huff. “Hmmf, believe me, I really wanted to. I don’t care if it was an accident, the dude pissed me off. I have half a mind to threaten a lawsuit against him just to teach him a lesson.”

Helga takes a piece of warm bread before passing the rest of the basket to Gerald. “Oh, Geraldo, give the kid a break, he didn’t hit you on purpose. You’re the one that got your big ole face in the way of his fist.”

Taking a piece of bread, Gerald passes the basket to Arnold. “It doesn’t matter, he shouldn’t have been fighting in the first place.”

“Oh, you’re just sore that you weren’t quick enough to dodge his punch like Charles was. Right Arnoldo?”

Arnold looks at his wife with wide eyes. “Oh, no, don’t put me in the middle of this.”

Twirling a large portion of spaghetti on her fork, Helga talks through a mouthful of food. “So, how did it go with the parents? I assume at least one parent had to come get their kid?”

Arnold stabs a cherry tomato out of his salad and holds it on the end of his fork as he speaks. “Well, since I was the one sitting with the kids, I was there when Charles’s dad came to get him. He was upset, but more concerned for his child’s well-being than the consequences of the fight. Blake’s dad didn’t get there until after the last bell. I had a parent meeting to get to so I waited as long as I could then ended up just leaving him in Dunn’s office to wait.”

“I was in the office when his dad finally got there, and man, it was not a pretty sight.” Gerald pauses for a moment to slurp up a few strands of spaghetti. “He came roaring into Dunn’s office like a bull in a china shop, demanding to know why he was forced to be dragged away from work, blaming everyone but Blake for the fight. He couldn’t see why his son just couldn’t be sent home on his own to be dealt with later. And the way he kept looking at his son! To be honest, I kind of felt sorry for the kid. I’m sure he’s getting an earful from the man right about now.”

“Oh, great.” Arnold says with a roll of his eyes. “Just the type of person I want to deal with when I have my parent conferences with them and Dunn.”

All conversation is temporarily halted when a loud crash can be heard coming from Phillip’s direction, followed by a cacophony of grunts and squeals. Phillip has dropped his bowl of spaghetti to the floor, causing the remaining pigs in attendance to go wild as they quickly do their best to clear the floor of all traces of food. 

Later that evening, with Phillip cleaned up and soundly asleep in his crib, Arnold and Helga lay quietly in each other’s arms in their darkened bedroom. The moon casts its subdued glow through the open window, offering Helga just enough light to see the frustrated look on her husband’s face. Reaching out, she runs her fingers through his hair as she speaks.

“What’s with the frown? My spaghetti not sitting well in your stomach?”

Arnold lets out a small sigh. “No, dinner was fine. I was just thinking about the fight between those two boys today.”

Helga’s hand trails down to Arnold’s shoulder where she gives it a little rub. “What about it?”

“Well, I just can’t help but think, all this trouble over a girl.”

“I don’t see anything wrong with a guy defending his girlfriend’s honor, I think it was kind of sweet.”

“But to risk expulsion over it? I don’t know, that seems a bit extreme to me.” 

“Oh, you just don’t know true romance when you see it. It’s a classic tale of chivalry. The knight in shining armor coming to the defense of his fair maiden.”

Arnold can’t help but smile at his wife. “And YOU are just a born romantic at heart. Leave it to you to find something poetic about two high schoolers getting into a fist fight in the hallway.”

Helga rolls onto her back and studies the ceiling. “It’s not just that, I mean, think of the rumors that Blake has been spreading all over the school at Tonya’s expense. Someone had to step up and defend the poor girl. Okay, so perhaps he went a little overboard, but from what I’ve gathered about her home life she’s pretty much ignored most of the time, so it’s got to be good for her to know that at least someone’s got her back.”

Arnold rolls to his side now, facing his wife. Bending his elbow, he props his head up so he can look down at her. 

“Oh, she’s not alone.” He says through a soft smile.

Looking up, Helga stares into his darkened eyes, the green of his irises all but pushed out by his enlarged pupils. “Well, yeah, she has Charles, doi.”

He runs the back of his fingers down her cheek, placing the tips of them under her chin, tilting her face slightly upwards. “And don’t forget you, you’ve become like a mother hen to her over these past few months. With you as her friend she’ll always have someone to turn to.”

She smiles up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You know something, you’re right.”

“Of course I am.” He whispers as he covers her mouth with his.

xxxxx  
Helga walks onto the school grounds carrying Phillip’s carrier in one hand, and a bag full of pastrami sandwiches in the other. Slung over her shoulder is a diaper bag containing whatever she may need for her son while on their outing. She makes a stop at the attendance office to get a visitor’s pass before stopping by her husband’s office. Giving the door a small knock, she lets herself in.

“Knock, knock Arnoldo, you’ve got a visitor.”

Looking up from his desk, Arnold breaks out in a wide smile as he stands up to greet his wife.

“Helga, this is a surprise. Why didn’t you tell me you were going to be stopping by today?”

“Well, if I did it wouldn’t be a surprise, doi. I hope we’re not interrupting anything important.”

“No, not at all.” Arnold says as he takes his son from his wife. “Besides, nothing’s more important than my big guy here. Isn’t that right Philly Boy?”

Helga gives him a raise of her eyebrow. “Oh? And what am I? Chopped liver?”

Arnold leans in to give her a small kiss. “Of course not, you’re more like an expensive caviar.”

Helga gives a little giggle. “That sounds more like Rhonda than me. I’d say I’m more of a pastrami on rye.” She holds up the bag carrying the sandwiches. “Speaking of which, I brought you lunch.”

Smelling the fatty goodness of the pastrami, Arnold starts to salivate as he takes the bag from Helga. “Excellent, cause I suddenly find myself starving.” Opening the bag Arnold’s eyes grow wide. “Woah, I’m hungry, but not three sandwiches hungry.”

“They’re not all for you, Arnoldo. I kind of have an ulterior motive for coming here and pretending to visit you makes my presence on campus less suspicious.”

“Oh, so using me for your own ill gains?”

“Something like that. After our conversation last night I couldn’t stop thinking about Tonya, so I thought I’d stop by with a peace offering and lend her some moral support. Besides, Phillip hasn’t seen her in weeks and he misses her.”

“Mm-hmm, use our son as an excuse just like his poor father. Okay, I guess you have a valid reason. How do you plan on getting her out of class?”

“I’m glad you asked, because that’s where you come in. I need you to call the girl that’s manning the attendance office and have her track down Tonya and bring her a pass to come to your office.”

“I don’t know, Helga. Wouldn’t that be an abuse of my position? Using my role as school counselor for your evil plans?”

“My plans aren’t evil, and besides, I’ll have her back before the start of her next class.”

“You can’t leave the school grounds, you know that, right?”

“I know, I know. I’m just going to take her to one of our old campus haunts so we can have a private talk.”

Arnold studies her for a moment before picking up his phone and dialing the attendance office. His call is answered on the second ring.

“Hello, this is Mr. Shortman. I need you to get a message to one of the students to come to the counselling office.”

Giving her husband a big smile, she plants a kiss on his cheek as she and Phillip wait outside his office for their lunch guest.

xxxxx

 

Tonya sits doodling on a piece of notebook paper while listening to the drone of the teacher’s lecture. She had left the house without eating any breakfast this morning and her stomach gives a little growl. Thirty pairs of eyes look towards the door at the front of the class as it unexpectedly opens. Tonya watches with curiosity as Heather comes walking in with a note for the teacher. She’s doubly surprised when her name is called and she is told to gather her stuff and go to the counselor’s office. Twenty-nine pairs of eyes watch her as she quickly leaves the classroom. Once in the hallway she pumps Heather for information.

“What gives, why am I being called to Mr. Shortman’s office?”

Heather just shrugs her shoulders. “I dunno, I just got a call from him to come get you. Do you think it has something to do with yesterday’s fight?”

“Oh, geeze, I hope not. Well, I guess I’d better go get this over with. I’ll fill you in later.”

She gives Heather a wave as she makes her way down the hallway. When she reaches Arnold’s office she’s surprised to see Helga waiting outside.”

“Mrs. Short – uh, Helga, what a surprise to see you guys here.” She takes Phillip from her as he stretches out reaching for her. “Do you know what Mr. Shortman wants to see me about?”

“Oh, the note wasn’t from him, it was from me.”

“Um, I don’t understand.”

“It’s simple, I’ve come to bust you out of class for a while. Look, I even brought us sandwiches from Big Al’s.”

Tonya takes a deep breath in. “Mmmm, is that pastrami I smell?”

“Yep, and I even scored a few dill pickles too. Come on, let’s go have lunch.”

They don’t say much as they walk down the hallway. Tonya stops at the cafeteria doors and starts to go inside when Helga places a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. “Uh-uh, follow me.”

Tonya’s curiosity grows and she follows Helga out the side doors and across the campus. They head towards the band room but instead of going inside they take a detour to the back of the building where Tonya sees a small door she’s never noticed before. Walking up to it, Helga grabs onto the handle.

“This door is usually kept locked, but unless they’ve fixed it over the years, I know how to open it without bothering with a key.”

Giving the handle a good jiggle, she takes a small, metal nail file out of Phillip’s diaper bag and jimmies it into the keyhole. After a couple of perfectly timed twists of the file and shakes of the handle, they hear the distinct click of the opening lock.

“Ahh, success!” Helga exclaims, a huge, satisfied smile brightening her face. “Some things never change.”

As they step inside Tonya finds herself in a small stairwell. The air is stale and humid, and its pitch black from lack of windows. Closing the door behind them, Helga forgoes the light switch and cautions Tonya to be careful as they make their way up the stairs. Tonya finds the stairs to be metal, their footsteps echoing off the cement walls as they climb. Once at the top a cascade of light comes pouring into the stairwell as Helga opens the door. She steps aside allowing Tonya and Phillip to pass. Before closing the door, she takes a small doorstop from the diaper bag and props the door open so they don’t get locked out. As they stand on the roof of the band room Tonya looks around. There’s not much to see save for the large heating and cooling unit that pumps its air through the ducts that run through the inside of the building. Shifting Phillip to her other hip, Tonya turns to Helga.

“How did you ever stumble onto this place?”

Helga’s cheeks become colored with a tinge of pink as she remembers hers and Arnold’s high school days. “Oh, well, Arnold and I were always looking for quiet, out of the way places we could hide out at when we attended here. I remember seeing a janitor come up here once and, well, this sort of became one of our little hideaways. Hmmm, I wonder…….”

Helga walks up to the back side of the heating unit, scanning it as if looking for something important.

“Ah-ha, here it is!” She says as she points to a particular spot.

Looking to where Helga is pointing, Tonya sees a large heart that was written in black, permanent marker, and reads the words that have been faded with the passing years.

“Arnold loves Helga 4 ever. Oh my gosh, that is so sweet!”

Helga looks at it with fond memory. “I remember the day he wrote that. We were sitting up here and, well, you know, and right before we had to leave to get to class he takes out this huge black marker and writes that. I’m surprised no one ever bothered to cover it up or anything.”

Tonya holds Phillip a little closer as she watches his mother’s face. She wonders if the love that she and Charles have will ever be as strong and deep as theirs. “That’s so – romantic.” She says with a sigh.

“Yeah, old Arnoldo was known to be quite the romantic back then.” She thinks about their recent vow renewal. “He still is, actually. Anyway, I have something else to show you.”

Walking to the edge of the rooftop they gaze out and Tonya finds that as you walk around the perimeter of the rooftop, you get a full, 360 degree view of the entire campus without being seen by anyone below. The first lunch bell begins to ring, and before too long the campus is filled with students hustling here and there.

“This is amazing.” She says as they come full circle.

“I know, isn’t it?” Helga chuckles. “Look over there, you can see the football field, and if you look closely you can even see under the home team’s bleachers.” Helga begins to laugh harder at a memory the view brings up. “I remember coming up here once with Arnoldo and looking out towards the bleachers only to find one Miss Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd engaged in a very precarious activity with one Thaddeus Curly Gammelthorp. I asked her what was up with her and Curly that day, and do you know that to this day she still vehemently swears there’s never been anything up with the two of them?”

Tonya laughs at Helga’s memory before becoming very quiet. The two girls sit down with Phillip on Tonya’s lap as Helga unpacks their lunch. Tonya takes a bite, looking at Helga as she chews. The girl’s stare begins to make Helga feel a bit self-conscious and she distracts herself by giving Phillip a bit of pastrami to gnaw on. After a moment Tonya lets out what’s on her mind.

“Um, Helga, why did you bring me here?”

Helga feigns ignorance. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Come on, I know you didn’t bring me up here to rehash old high school stories. What’s up?”

Knowing when she’s defeated, Helga confesses her real reason for wanting to have lunch with the girl.

“Okay, look. Arnold told me what went down here yesterday between Charles and Blake. He also told me it was over some rumors that have been going around campus.”

Tonya lowers her eyes in embarrassment. “Oh, I see.” She raises her gaze to Helga now. “Those things that Blake has been saying, you have to believe me, they’re all lies. I have not been sleeping around.”

Helga raises a hand to quiet her. “Look, I’m not here to judge you. God knows neither Arnold nor I were saints when we were teenagers, and we were hardly virgins when we got married. If you and Charles truly love each other, and there’s mutual consent, then what you do is between the two of you. What I’m concerned with is how you’re holding up after having to deal with all of the rumors and such. I know you, you’re a lot like me, and you keep a lot of your real feelings to yourself, just like I used to. Right?”

Tonya gives a small nod of her head.

“Well, I brought you up here today to tell you that you’re not alone. You don’t have to go through this by yourself, you can be yourself with me, and come to me at any time, for any reason. Understand?”

Tonya’s shoulders begin to shake from her silent sobs. She leans into Helga who wraps her arms around her, rocking her as she would her own child. Stroking the girl’s long hair she holds her until she stops crying. 

Taking a napkin, Helga wipes Tonya’s tears away. “There, you always feel better after a good cry, right?”

Tonya gives a little chuckle. “Yeah, I guess.”

There’s a moment of contemplated silence that is broken by Tonya’s quiet voice.

“Um, Helga?”

Helga gives the girl a questioning look. “Yeah, Tonya?”

“Thanks.”

A wide smile grows on Helga’s face. “No problem. Now, how about we devour these sandwiches before they get stale, I’m famished.”

In full agreement, Tonya takes a large bite of her sandwich as Phillip sits between them mooching whatever tidbits he’s able to con the two girls out of.


	110. Chapter 110

Time moves slowly for Charles as he spends his afternoons under house arrest. Although his parents were not at all happy with their son starting a fight on school grounds, his father couldn’t help but be a bit proud of him for remembering everything he learned from their days of basement boxing lessons. Of course he could never let his wife know of his feelings since she is a firm believer that violence is never the answer. Regardless, though, it makes him feel good that his son at least has the ability to defend himself if need be. 

On this particular morning Charles has woken up early, and after spending an hour unsuccessfully trying to fall back to sleep, he gives up and walks downstairs. As he enters the kitchen he sees his dad sitting at the table with the morning newspaper while his mom makes breakfast. Hearing his son’s footsteps, his father puts down the paper and motions for Charles to join him.

“Well, up with the chickens this morning I see. What brings you downstairs so early?”

“Nothing really, I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep so I figured I’d join you guys for breakfast before you both head off to work.”

His mother brings over a frying pan filled with scrambled eggs, and begins scooping them onto plates. She gives him a look that says she’s still a bit mad over the trouble he’s caused. 

“Then it’s a good thing I made extra eggs this morning. So, how do you plan on filling your day today?” 

Charles gives a shrug of his shoulders. “I dunno, video games most likely.”

His mom gives him a raise of her eyebrows. “Really now, and what about the school work I brought home for you? Do you plan on working that into your busy schedule?”

“Don’t worry, it will get done before Friday.”

“You just make sure it does. Honestly, Charles, I still can’t believe you. Getting suspended for fighting of all things.”

His dad gives a little chuckle. “Oh, Margaret, give the boy a break, at least it was for a good cause.”

Margaret turns her glare to her husband as she points a finger at him. “Don’t you ‘Oh Margaret’ me James Larsen. I know how you’re secretly getting a kick out of what your son did.”

James fakes innocence. “What makes you say that?”

“I see the smile on your face every time the subject of the fight comes up. I swear, you men are all alike with your macho attitudes.”

Chuckling, James gets up, giving his wife a quick kiss on her head before heading off to work.

“I still say there’s nothing wrong with a person being able to defend themselves. I’ve got to get going before the morning traffic gets too bad. I’ll see you both tonight.” Turning to Charles he gives him a warning look. “And you, be sure to get that homework done, okay?”

Charles gives his dad a small smile. “Okay, Pops.”

Charles sits alone with his mother now as they both finish their breakfast. Since entering into his teen years, the two of them have not always seen eye to eye. Regardless of this fact, she has always been there for him when push came to shove. This is one of those times. 

“Um, mom?” He says in a meek voice.

“Yes?” She answers as she watches him from over her coffee mug.

“I, uh, just want to thank you for helping me out with Tonya. Especially after how I’ve made such a mess of things.”

She puts down her coffee, giving her son a soft smile. “Its okay, Charles. Yes, what you did may not have been the best way to handle the situation, but you are still my son, and I do love you. Plus, I like your girlfriend and it isn’t right for her to miss out on such a big night as prom.”

Charles gives her a hopeful look. “So, then are you still okay with getting me the stuff I’ll need for Saturday night?”

Margaret gives her son a smile. “Yes, Charles, I’m still okay with helping you, but, you are paying for everything with the money you’ve earned from tutoring. Your father and I are not paying for it.”

Charles nods his head. “I know, I don’t expect you to. So, um, are you and dad still going out Saturday night?”

“Yes, but even though you’ll have the house to yourselves for most of the evening, I still expect you to act like a gentleman. Got it?” She says, giving him a look that shows she means business.

A deep blush comes to Charles’s cheeks. “Don’t worry, nothing will happen.”

“Good. Well, as much as I love sitting and talking to you, I’m afraid it’s my turn to head to work. Remember, no leaving the house unless it’s on fire.”

Charles gives her a chuckle. “Okay. I’ll see you later.”

He watches his mom leave the room, thankful that even though it’s his fault he’s suspended, she’s still willing to help him out with what he has planned. It may not be as elegant as some fancy hotel ballroom prom, but he’s determined to do his best to make it a night to remember.

xxxxx

The little gaggle of girls sit at a round table in the crowded cafeteria. With there being only two more days until prom the hot topic of conversation is naturally turned to dresses, dinner reservations and after prom activities. The girls hold multiple conversations at once while Tonya sits stirring her tapioca pudding and listening to them all try to talk over each other’s conversations. Noticing her quiet friend, Denise tries to draw her into the conversation.

“So, Tonya, do you have any ideas about what Charles has planned for your night?”

The rest of the girls all stop talking, turning their attention to their silent friend. Finally noticing that the chatter has stopped, she lifts her head to see that all eyes are on her. Feeling a little awkward at all the attention, she shrugs her shoulders.

“Um, not really. All he said was to wear the dress I had bought for prom and be at his house by 6:30.”

“Ohhh, that sounds so mysterious.” Gina says as she looks at the other girls.

“Oh, yeah it does.” Heather says in agreement. 

Abby has a dreamy expression on her face as she speaks. “I wonder if it will be as romantic as when he asked you to prom.”

“Are you gonna sleep with him if he tries anything?” Heather asks with a bit of a lecherous smile on her face.

Tonya answers her in shock. “What! No, of course not! Especially not after all the rumors that have been going around. That’s all I’d need is for word to get out that I was sleeping with Charles, then everyone would believe Blake’s lies. No, I will definitely not be having any sex this Saturday night.”

“I think that’s very wise.” Denise says as she sticks up for her friend. 

Tonya adds almost as an afterthought, “Besides, I don’t think Charles is the type to take advantage of a situation. Cause if what he does have planned is as romantic as what he did at the observatory, he probably knows I’d have a hard time saying no.”

“Well let’s hope so.” Gina says before returning to their original topic. “So, how many people does that limo fit anyway…….”

Xxxxx

Pulling his truck into the parking lot that sits behind the local arcade, Blake takes notice of the parked cars, mentally placing those he recognizes with their owners. He had given his latest girlfriend, Suzie, a call to see if she wanted to hang out after school but was turned down when she said she was busy with her cheer leading squad. Tired of sitting in an empty house, he decided the hell with being grounded and took off for the arcade in hopes of meeting up with some of his friends. He sees his best friend Justin’s car a few stalls down from his and quickly heads into the arcade. He scans the noisy room as he heads towards the back where the old school pinball machines are kept. He preferred the more hands on feel of the older pinball games. There is something about the feel of the buttons at your fingertips as you watch and wait for that silver ball to come to you, timing your moves carefully so that the ball hits the flappers in the perfect spot to send it flying back up the board towards the bumpers. There is a certain excitement as that ball bounces off the bumpers at lightning speed, while you stand with fingers poised, ready to hit that button again. There’s something about the dinging sound that’s made each time the ball hits its targets, mixing with the sound of the digit counters as you rack up your points. He also loves the graphics as they blink and light up with each perfectly timed hit. 

When he reaches the bank of pinball machines he see that his favorite one stands empty of players. The theme of the game is centered on the old rock band KISS. The make-up clad faces of each band member looking out at you as its lights flash, beckoning you to come join them. Feeling lucky, he makes his way towards the empty machine when he spots Justin out of the corner of his eye, and standing next to him is none other than Suzie herself. She smiles as she hangs off his arm, unaware of Blake watching her as she places a kiss on Justin’s cheek. Angered at what he sees, he changes his course of direction and walks up to the two, catching them by surprise. 

“Since when did Justin become part of the cheer leading team?” He asks, causing the two to finally notice him.

A shocked Suzie turns her face in the direction of his voice. “Blake! Wh-what are you doing here? I thought you were grounded.”

Blake looks over to Justin and sees the guilty look on his face. Turning back to Suzie he gives her a bit of a sneer. “I am grounded.”

Over her shock, Suzie gives Blake a bit of the attitude she’s so well known for. “Well then what are you doing here?” 

“Never mind what I’m doing here, what are YOU doing here? You told me you were busy with the cheer leading squad.”

“I was, but, uh, I was mistaken. I thought the meeting was today but it’s not.”

“Oh? Aren’t you the head cheerleader? Aren’t you the one that’s in charge of arranging the meetings? It’s pretty funny that you can’t remember when your own meeting is.”

Suzie opens her mouth to speak when Justin cuts her off. “What’s it to you anyway, Blake? You shouldn’t even be here.”

“No, I shouldn’t, but it’s a good thing I am, otherwise I never would have found out about what a liar Suzie is.”

Justin laughs in his face. “HA! That’s rich, you calling Suzie a liar. YOU’RE the liar.”

Suzie gives him a questioning look. “What do you mean, Justin?”

“What I mean is, all those things Blake’s been going around saying about Tonya, they’re all lies. He never slept with her.”

Blake takes a step towards Justin. “Shut up, Justin. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes I do. I was there that night, remember? You dropped Tonya off at home then met up with me and the guys no more than ten minutes later. So unless you just happen to be the fastest gun in the west, there’s no way that you had time to take Tonya home, go up to her room, and have sex with her multiple times. Besides, I know you. You can never refrain from bragging about your conquests right after they happen, and with Tonya there was no bragging until she dumped you for Charles.”

Suzie looks at Blake with disbelief. “So, all that stuff you said. It was all lies. Tonya was right.”

Looking around him, Blake notices that a small crowd of friends has formed. Embarrassed at being caught in his web of lies, he struggles for something to say. 

“I – I’m not the liar, Justin is. It was hours before I met back up with him and the guys.”

Justin gives another laugh. “No it wasn’t, you can ask any of the guys and they’ll tell you the same thing.”

The small group of teens just stand and stare at Blake, waiting for him to speak. He’s been caught and he knows it. With nothing more to say in defense of himself, he pushes Justin out of his way and leaves the arcade with his tail between his legs. The sound of laughter from his friends following him out the door.

xxxxx

Having locked the Packard snugly away in the garage, Arnold enters the boarding house through the kitchen door. He stops to open the oven door, peeking inside to see what’s on the dinner menu for the night. Satisfied with the enchilada casserole that sits bubbling away, his stomach give a little growl. Continuing on his way, he finds Helga in the family room, typing away on her laptop. Scanning the floor, he sees his son giggling as he crawls around while being followed by Agnes and Annabelle. Looking at the coffee table, he notices a large brown box. Curious as to what it holds, he takes a look inside.

“What’s this?” He asks as he pulls out a light green dress with short puffy sleeves and what looks to be a pink octopus of some sort on the front. Digging deeper he pulls out a headband with a pair of horns on it, and a scepter that displays a yellow star in the middle with a crown at the top and a pair of wings coming out the sides. 

Turning to see what he’s talking about, Helga jumps up, giving him a big smile. “Oh, that’s my Star Butterfly costume. It finally came today, isn’t it great?”

“Um, I guess. You, uh, didn’t buy any costumes for me, did you?”

“Of course not, you already have the red hoodie I got you for your birthday. The rest of Marco’s outfit will be easy to put together. Oh, and look at this!”

She fumbles through the contents of the box before finally pulling out a costume that is obviously meant for Phillip.

“I even got Phillip a Tom costume. Isn’t it cute! He’s going to make the cutest Tom!”

“Where did you even find this stuff?”

“Oh, I found someone online that makes and sells cosplay outfits. I just gave her our measurements and told her what show we will be cosplaying and, boom, she made us these.”

“And just how much did custom costumes cost us?”

Helga brushes away his question. “Oh, Arnoldo, money doesn’t matter when it comes to good cosplay. There’s no way I’d be able to make costumes as good as these myself.”

“I’m still not so sure about all of this, Helga. How much do you really know about this Misty person anyway?”

“What are you worried about? I’ve known Misty since at least the sixth grade. Growing up she was someone I could go to when things got really bad. She’s been a big support to me.” 

Helga grows very quiet now, lowering her voice as she speaks. “She, um, even knows about that week I spent in Los Angeles. Along with Phoebe and Dr. Bliss, she was one of the only real supporters I had when I was hauled back to Hillwood. She, um, she’s a good person and I can tell you now she’s one of the reasons I’m still here today. That’s why this meeting is so important to me. Do you get it now?”

Arnold puts down the costume and pulls Helga into a tight hug. “Yeah, I get it, and I’m so very sorry that I wasn’t there for you while you were going through that. If I had only known…..”

Helga pushes away from him, wiping her tears as she talks. “Don’t worry, Arnold, even if you had it wouldn’t have made any difference. We weren’t at the same place with our feelings at the time and you had no idea what I was going through. Anyway, that’s in the past. The important thing is we’re where we are now and if that’s what I had to go through to get to this point then so be it. I believe that all things happen for a reason and through it I learned a good lesson. It mellowed me and made me easier to be around, which in turn made you finally take notice of me in the way I had always dreamed of. So, no more talk of it, okay?”

Looking into her watery eyes, Arnold wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. He rests his forehead against hers and gives her a little smile. “Okay, Helga, not another word on the subject.” 

He tilts her chin up to kiss her, but before their lips have a chance to meet he feels a tugging at his pant leg. Looking down he watches as his son grabs a fistful of material and pulls himself to a standing position. Phillip looks up at his father with a big, gummy smile. The first buds of his bottom front teeth threatening to burst through his pink gums. Along with the impending baby teeth comes an ocean of drool which now drips in long strands from the child’s chin down to Arnold’s work shoe. Phillip gives a little squeal as Arnold lifts him up, rubbing his nose to his son’s. Phillip’s hands come up, repeatedly hitting his father’s cheeks with little baby slaps as he giggles. 

“Hey, stop that!” Arnold laughs, causing Phillip to change tactics. Now the boy claps his hands to Arnold’s cheeks, leaving them there as his father shakes his head ordering him to let go. Removing his hands, Phillip stares at his dad, his giggles giving away the fact that hands are about to meet cheek once more. This goes on for a few more slaps until Arnold has had enough and holds Phillip up so his belly is at face level. Taking in a deep breath, Arnold puckers his lips, blowing a loud raspberry into Phillip’s stomach. The boy lets out a contagious belly laugh that has not only Helga and Arnold laughing along with him, but Agnes and Annabelle joining in with happy squeals.

Their merriment is cut short when they hear the oven timer buzzing from the kitchen. Taking Phillip with him, Arnold happily heads upstairs to change his clothes before dinner. Helga gathers up the pieces to her Star Butterfly costume, neatly placing everything back in the box. She’s glad that Arnold failed to notice the box of brown hair dye that was sitting next to it. Picking up the box of dye, she adds it to the rest of the costume pieces, wondering just how she’s going to get Arnold to let her dye his hair.


	111. Chapter 111

The air is filled with excitement as Tonya and her friends enter Beauty by Betsy, Hillwood’s newest, and trendiest, hair salon. Sitting smack dab in the middle of the newly renovated downtown area, it is a popular haunt with the high school generation, and with tonight being prom, every chair in the shop is booked solid for the day.

A small bell that hangs over the top of the door gives a subdued tinkle as the girls enter the shop. Walking up to the reception counter, their senses are filled with the strong smells of hair spray and setting gel, the latest popular tunes flowing from hidden speakers. Along the two sides of the room, long mirrors hang on white walls, with rows of chairs sitting directly in front of them. The long counters that run under the mirrors are filled with various styling implements, along with the newest hair products that each stylist is encouraged to gently push on their clients. At the back of the shop sits the hair washing sinks and a small bank of hair dryers. Beyond that, is a back room with a small washer/dryer, with an employee break area in the far corner. 

They give the receptionist their names and appointment times, then take a seat while they each wait for their assigned stylist to call them. A couple of the girls grab a styling book, flipping through the pages as they go in search of the perfect up do. Tonya sits next to Denise, who once again ponders just what Charles has in store for her friend tonight.

“So you still have no idea about what Charles has planned for tonight? Has he not given you even one little hint?”

Tonya shakes her head as she picks up a styling book. “Nope, like I said, all I know is to meet him at his house and to come hungry.”

“Oh, he’s cooking you dinner! Did you know he could cook?”

“No, but who says he’s cooking the dinner? I’m sure either his mom will be the one to do the cooking, or he’s having dinner catered.”

A hush comes over the small group of girls causing Tonya to give Gina a questioning look. With wide eyes, Gina gives a lift of her chin, gesturing towards the other end of the salon. Tonya turns her head in the direction of Gina’s gesture, and gives a grimace when she sees Suzie and a couple of her friends walking towards them, each with their blonde hair freshly coifed. 

Tonya leans in and whispers to Denise. “Oh, great, just who I don’t want to talk to, especially today of all days.”

Denise whispers back. “Do you think she blames you for Blake getting suspended? They were supposed to go to prom together.”

“I know. She’d better not blame me for Blake acting like an ass. I’d hate to have it out with her right in the middle of the salon, but I will if I have to.”

Before Denise can answer back Suzie walks over to the girls, planting herself in front of the two of them. Looking up at her, Tonya braces herself for an argument until she sees the look on the girl’s face. To Tonya it looks like a cross between nervousness and embarrassment. Her guess is confirmed correct when the girl finally speaks.

“Hi, uh, Tonya.”

Tonya eyes her suspiciously. “Hello, Suzie. Can we – help you?”

Suzie brings a hand up to the back of her neck and gives it an awkward rub.

“Yeah, um, well. I, uh, had an interesting run-in with Blake yesterday.”

“Oh? And what lies is he spouting about me now?”

“Yeah, well, that’s the thing. I was at the arcade with Justin when Blake came walking in. We sort of got into a little argument and that’s when Justin let out the fact that Blake had actually been lying about what he’s been saying about the two of you.”

Tonya sits back, startled and feeling as if a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders. “He, d-did? What did Blake have to say about that?”

“Well, at first he tried to deny it, but Justin just kept shooting him down until Blake couldn’t come up with any more excuses. He finally just gave Justin a dirty look and left.”

“Hmmf, well maybe now everyone will believe that I was telling the truth.”

Suzie nods her head furiously. “Oh, yes, everyone now knows that Blake’s a liar. They totally believe you.”

“Even you?”

“Yes, me too.” Suzie pauses for a moment before speaking to Tonya in a pleading voice. “Oh, Tonya, I’m really sorry about the way I acted. I thought about how I would have felt if Blake had started spreading lies about me, and, well, it just made me feel really awful. I hope you can forgive me.”

Tonya considers Suzie’s words. She wonders just how heartfelt she’s actually being. Tired of the whole ordeal, and wanting desperately to put it behind her, she decides to accept the girl’s apology.

“Yes, Suzie, if it will put an end to all of this, then I forgive you.”

Clapping her hands in front of her while giving a small jump, Suzie smiles for the first time.

“Oh, thank you, Tonya. I really wish you could go to prom tonight. It really sucks that Charles had to get suspended because of Blake.”

“Don’t worry about it. Charles has something planned for tonight, so I won’t be sitting home alone. So, if Blake is banned from prom, then who are you going with?”

A large smile fills Suzie’s face. “Oh, I’m going with Justin, and I can’t wait! Well, we’re off to get our nails done. Have fun tonight with Charles.”

The small group of girls sit in a shocked silence for a moment as they watch Suzie and her crew leave the salon. Tonya slowly shakes her head as she speaks to no one in particular.

“What the hell just happened?”

Heather gives a small giggle. “I don’t know, but it looks like thanks to Justin you’re finally no longer the hot topic of conversation.”

Hearing her name being called, Tonya gets up and says a quiet, “Yeah, I guess so.” As she walks up to take her place in the stylist’s chair.

xxxxx

Margaret stands next to her son as she feeds him instructions on how to make a delicate béarnaise. He was worried that he had bitten off more than he could chew when he decided to actually cook dinner for Tonya, but is pleasantly surprised at how easy the sauce is to make. Even though his mother’s recipe has turned out to be pretty fool-proof, he’s glad that he’s taken the time to do a run-through ahead of time. He’s not having any trouble making it on the stovetop, and hopes it will go just as smoothly tonight when he tries cooking it over the grill. His mouth starts to water as he thinks about how delicious it’s going to taste over the filet mignons that are waiting in the refrigerator. 

He chose steaks for their special dinner because not only are steaks easy to cook, there’s not a whole lot of preparation involved. Plus, in his opinion, a cut like filet mignon is higher end and will make the dinner seem that much more special. 

Continuing to stir his sauce, he lifts the spoon he is using, letting some of the thickened liquid flow back into the pot.

“So how does this look, is it the right consistency?”

His mom takes a closer look. “I’d say that’s just about perfect. The real question is, how does it taste?”

Lifting the spoon to his lips, Charles cautiously tastes it. “Hey, that’s not half bad. Have a taste.”

Charles holds the spoon out for his mom. Tasting it, she gives him a smile. “That’s really good, Charles. Not bad for your first time. Now are you sure you’ll be able to recreate this tonight for Tonya?”

“Yeah, I think so. I have the recipe written down, and I start it once the steaks are off the grill and resting, right?”

“Yep, I think you’ve got it. Now, how about the dessert? Are you sure you can handle something like cherries jubilee?” 

“Yeah, it’ll be a piece of cake.”

“You’re going to have to light it, and I don’t want you burning the house down, so be very careful.”

“Don’t worry, mom, I did fine when I practiced making it for last night’s dessert. I even impressed dad with my sweet cooking skills, and you know how picky he is.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll trust that you have this under control. So, what time is Tonya due to be dropped off again?”

“Her dad is bringing her over at 6:30.” Charles pauses for a moment before he continues speaking. “Um, mom, I know I’m under house arrest, but I was wondering. Would it be okay if I drove Tonya home once you and dad are back from your night out? It would really make it seem more like a date, date if I did.”

His mom considers his request. “Well, tell you what. Your dad and I will discuss it while we’re out, but I’m sure it will probably be okay. If we do say yes, it will only be a quick trip to her house and back. No detours, got it?”

Charles’s face brightens back up. “Yeah, don’t worry.”

“Okay, well, I will leave you to cleaning up this mess, then you’d better start getting the place ready for your big night.” Before leaving the kitchen she gives him a quick hug. “I’m sorry your night got ruined, but I do hope the two of you have a wonderful time tonight.”

A slight blush colors Charles’s pale cheeks. “Thanks, I’m sure we will.”

As his mom leaves the kitchen he turns back to the pot of béarnaise sauce. It has started to cool and is becoming a congealed mess. He realizes that he is going to have to watch the timing of the meal very carefully and hopes that he knows what he’s doing.

xxxxx

Tonya slips on a pair of heels and checks herself one more time in the mirror. Once in the stylists chair she had opted for a half up, half down hairstyle. She turns her head from side to side, liking the way the stylist swept the sides of her hair up into an array of curls that sit gathered at the back of her head. The rest of her hair flows past her shoulders in soft ringlets that end just below her shoulder blades. 

A gem of bright green hangs from a gold chain and rests a couple of inches above her full cleavage, matching the gems that dangle from her ears. She wears a sleeveless dress with a sweetheart neckline and fitted bodice. The skirt of the dress flows gracefully down the rest of her body, dancing around her legs as she walks. The green is accented with gilded embroidery that catches the light as she moves. Her shoes have the same golden embroidery as her dress, with a heel just high enough to bring her almost eye to eye with Charles. 

Checking the time, she grabs a small purse that sits on her dresser and a sweater, then rushes out the bedroom door and downstairs to where her father waits.

“It’s about time.” He says as he gives his watch a quick check.

“I’m sorry, but I wanted to make sure everything was perfect.”

Once in the car Tonya sits nervously next to her dad. Her dad was always more comfortable with her brother, talking about things he was familiar with. With Tonya being a girl, he never quite knew what to say other than light chit chat. Tonight, however, was an exception.

“So, you and this Charles seem to be pretty serious. You must really like him.”

“Well, he is my boyfriend, so, yeah. I do like him, a lot.”

“What ever happened to that Blake fellow? I thought he was your boyfriend.”

Luckily it’s dark in the car, hiding the rolling of Tonya’s eyes. “No, dad, he was never my boyfriend. We just went to homecoming together. That’s all.”

“Oh, well, isn’t he one of the school’s star football players?”

Tonya starts to become annoyed with her father’s line of conversation. “Yeah, I guess, but can we please change the subject. I don’t really want to be talking about Blake while I’m on my way to have dinner with Charles.”

“Okay, we’ll talking about Charles. What sports does he play?”

Tonya hangs her head in frustration. “He isn’t into sports. He’s more into things like computers and stuff.”

“A techie huh? I guess you can make a good living out of that, what with the way everything is computerized now and such.”

“Oh, good, I’m sure Charles will be glad you approve.”

“Hey now, little lady. It’s not too late for me to turn this car around and head back home, you know.” 

“Okay, I’m sorry. Oh, slow down, we’re here.”

Once the car comes to a stop Tonya doesn’t give her father time for anymore smart remarks. Throwing the door open, she quickly gets out, leaning down to say good-bye.

“Thanks for the lift. I’ll give you a call if I need a ride home.”

“Just remember your curfew, I want you home by midnight.”

This time Tonya doesn’t hesitate to let her dad see her eye roll. “Okay, got it. See ya when I get home.”

She waits until her dad pulls away from the curb before walking up to the Larsen’s front door. Checking once again to make sure everything’s tucked in where it should be, she rings the bell. There’s a moment of silence before footsteps can be heard rushing up to the door. With a turn of the knob, the door is opened, revealing a tuxedo clad Charles on the other side as he holds a wrist corsage of delicate, white orchids.


	112. Chapter 112

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me, but.....

Arnold spreads the circular plastic tarp down on the floor of Olga’s dining room before setting Phillip’s high chair on top of it. Learning from past experience, he and Helga always make sure to come well prepared when dining out with their son. Helga places Phillip in his seat, making sure to securely strap him in. Once the chair’s tray has been snapped into place, Phillip proceeds to happily bang his hands on it while smiling up at his mother. Helga looks down at her son and places a soft kiss on the top of his head, then sits down in the empty chair to his right. With Arnold taking up the left side, they turn their attention to their hosts who have taken the seats across the table from them. 

Olga smiles sweetly at the domestic scene before her and gives a little sigh. “I truly can’t believe how fast your son is growing. It seems like just yesterday he was an infant nursing at your breast, and now here he sits, a big boy, eating big people food.”

“I know.” Helga says as she places a spoonful of mashed potatoes on Phillip’s tray. They have purposely neglected to give the boy any silverware, feeling that a spoon would be used more as a catapult than an eating utensil. “Pretty soon he’ll be drinking from a regular cup and walking.”

“Hopefully not at the same time.” Samuel quips as he pours his guests a glass of wine.

“Oh, don’t worry, that most definitely won’t be happening.” Arnold reassures his brother-in-law.

Filling his own glass, Samuel continues talking. “So, Arnold, I hear it’s a big night for the high school.”

“Yeah, Hillwood’s holding its prom up at the country club as always. We must have counted at least five limos filled with kids on our way over here.”

A mischievous smile forms on Helga’s face as she looks at her husband.

“Remember our prom, Arnoldo?”

He answers her with a smile of his own. “Yeah, I sure do. All I have to say is that I’m sure glad we didn’t get stuck chaperoning tonight’s dance.”

“HA!” Helga laughs. “It’s going to be a long while before Dunn calls on you and Geraldo to do anymore chaperoning.”

“Well, things would have been fine that night at homecoming if it weren’t for Amanda.”

Helga looks as if she’s just taken a bite of something rancid. “Puh-lease, let’s not mention that name anymore, I want to enjoy Olga’s cooking and not have to worry about it coming back up.”

With a chuckle Arnold agrees to change the subject. “So, Samuel, where in the world did you learn to make Paella?” 

With a smile, Samuel goes into great detail on the finer points to a good Paella. “Oh, well, there was this one time when I was on holiday in Spain………………..”

xxxxx

Blake sits in the empty house, sulking over having to miss out on prom. That, combined with losing Suzie as a girlfriend to that traitor Justin, made a very volatile combination. With his parents gone until the wee hours of the morning, the quiet of the house begins to get on his nerves. Restless and angry, he looks for something to numb his overactive mind. He goes down into the fully furnished basement and, turning on the light, steps into the room. It’s been set up as a place for his parents to entertain the varied guests that tend to stop by on occasion. On one wall hangs a large, flat screen TV. There is an overstuffed leather sofa with two matching chairs placed around it, with a large coffee table in front of them. In the middle of the room is an expensive pool table where Blake has spent many a night honing his skills, but it is what sits along the wall on the other side of the room that catches his eye.

At the farthest end of the room sits a fully stocked bar where tall bar stools sit in front of a teak wood bar top. There is a mirrored wall behind the bar with glass shelves that hold a variety of alcohol large enough to put most home bars to shame. Behind the bar the small refrigerator and ice maker contain everything needed to make most any drink imaginable. 

Walking behind the bar, Blake grabs a beer glass and walks over to the tap, which is always filled and at the ready. He fills his glass, and is careful not to create too large a head. After all, you can’t get drunk off of foam, right?

He downs the first glass then pours himself a second. Taking it over to the pool table, he grabs his favorite cue and slowly proceeds to clear the table of balls. Once the table is cleared, he heads back to the bar for a refill. Going back to the table, he reracks the balls clearing the table for the second time. He continues in this pattern, clearing the table, then celebrating by refilling his glass. After the fourth time he grows bored with the game and the beer. With his mind not yet numb enough, he ups the ante and switches to hard liquor. Pouring himself a shot of his father’s finest Kentucky bourbon he lifts his glass in a toast as he slams the more than half empty bottle down on the bar. 

“To Justin the traitor!” He says as he downs the shot, his face contorting into a grimace from the burn as the alcohol slides down his throat.

After a couple more shots he begins to feel empowered and decides he’s not going to just sit back and let Justin make a fool of him. So, heading back upstairs, he grabs the keys to his truck and rushes out the door.

xxxxx

Hearing the sound of the doorbell, Charles’s anxiety level skyrockets. He checks himself in the bathroom mirror before heading for the door. Grabbing the corsage he made from his mother’s orchids, he opens the door. 

He stands with his mouth slightly agape as he takes in the sight before him. The light from the porch gently shines down on Tonya, bathing her in a soft glow as it glints off the embroidery on her dress. Her auburn hair shines in a rich mix of deep browns with her natural red highlights catching the light. Her eyes sparkle up at him, her lips an inviting soft pink.

He stands there unable to speak and it isn’t until he hears a quiet, “Hello, Charles” that he can finally string together at least a few intelligible words.

“T-Tonya, you’re, you look beautiful.”

She gives him a shy smile, briefly casting her eyes downwards before looking back up at him. “So – are you going to ask me in?”

Shaking his head, Charles finally comes to his senses. “Oh, yeah, of course. Please come in.”

Once inside he takes her purse and sweater then gives her the corsage. “Here, this is for you. I, uh, made it myself from some of my mom’s flowers.”

She admires the flowers as she slips them on her wrist. “Oh, they’re beautiful. I didn’t know your mom liked to garden.”

“Oh, yeah, she’s in to it big time. So much so that my dad built her a large roof top greenhouse.” He pauses for a moment before continuing on. “Um, which, by the way, is where we’ll be having dinner tonight.”

Tonya gives him a puzzled look. “Dinner in a greenhouse? That’s – different.”

“Oh, it’s not any ordinary greenhouse. You could say it’s a bit, how should I put it, over the top. But, that’s just my dad, anything for my mother.”

Tonya finds the thought of Mr. Larsen going to such extremes just to please his wife sweet and figures that that must be where Charles gets it from. “Well, I can’t wait to see it.”

Taking her by the hand, he leads her to the stairs. “Then come on, everything’s ready.”

Once in the second floor hallway, Charles leads her to a door at the far end of the hall. It opens up to a set of stairs that leads to the roof. Once outside Tonya stands in the cool night air, wrapping her arms around her. Charles sees her give a little shiver.

“Don’t worry, we’re not eating outside. Come on, the greenhouse is over here.”

He leads her to the other side of the roof top where the large structure stands. The whole thing is made of glass, each panel set in a white, metal frame. The view into the building from the outside is blocked by a variety of plants. It’s not until they step inside that the true grandeur of the greenhouse is revealed. 

The first thing that hits you when you step inside is the moist air that combines with the scents of the various greenery that seems to fill every nook and cranny of the room. The moist soil giving it an earthy smell. Along the perimeter of the room are tables and planters filled with plants in various stages of development. Each table or planter set up to handle its own specific type of plants. 

As she walks around the room she comes across an herb garden filled with plants of thyme and rosemary, basil and marjoram. Moving along there is a section of tomato plants, each filled with fruit in various stages of ripeness. There is a bed for growing garlic, onions, scallions and shallots. Over at the other end of the room is an area that sits behind a plastic curtain. Walking through the curtain she sees tables set up with orchids of various colors. The temperature in this curtained off part of the room is much warmer and a bit muggy, the perfect environment for growing such precious flowers.

Leaving the confines of the orchid room, the couple steps back into the main part of the greenhouse. Casting her gaze upwards now, it’s all Tonya can do to stifle a small gasp at the sight. Hovering over them is a sea of Wisteria that hangs from a trellis of branches, its purple flowers cascading gently downwards, its sweet scent intoxicating. Scattered about the Wisteria hang rounded light bulbs, suspended on golden chains. The light from the bulbs is subdued which only adds to the beauty of the plants that surround them. Earlier that day, Charles had strung small, white lights that slowly twinkle as if you are standing under a sea of stars. As she stands there she notices what sounds like a babbling brook and turns her head in the direction of the sound. She sees a four foot rock fountain tucked away in a corner. The water flows down the rocks into a small pool of water that has dark green Lilly pads lazily floating on top of it.

In the middle of the room is a small, round table for two. It is covered in a white tablecloth, a centerpiece of candles and small tea roses adorns it. The lights from above sparkle off his mom’s fine china and crystal.

Walking up to the table, he pulls a chair out for her, prompting her to sit down. Taking the chair opposite her, he fills two glasses with sparkling cider. Lifting his glass, his eyes never leave hers. His voice is deep and husky as he gives a small toast.

“To the most beautiful girl that I am lucky enough to call mine.”

For the second time that night, she blushes as they gently touch the rims of their glasses. Not wanting to be outdone, it’s her turn to toast.

“And to the sweetest, gentlest, most caring boy in the world. I know I don’t deserve you, Charles, but I’m so glad you’re mine.”

They take their time with their drinks, and once their glasses are emptied, Charles excuses himself to go outside to start the steaks. Before leaving he flips a switch, filling the room with soft music.

 

xxxxx

The small group sit in the living room finishing up a game of Pictionary. Phillip had long since fallen asleep and was snoozing happily in a porta crib that had been set up in Olga and Samuel’s bedroom. They were down to the last round of the game with the Shortman’s trailing woefully behind the Dunsmuir’s. 

“How on earth am I supposed to get the phrase ‘cat burglar’ out of that mess?” Helga yells with annoyance.

“What do you mean?” Arnold says while gesturing to his drawing. “It’s a cat wearing a mask. What else could it be?”

“Well, first of all, that looks more like a sewer rat than a cat, and second of all….”

“Now Helga,” Olga says in an effort to bring peace back into the game. “I think Arnold’s rat is just fine.”

“It’s – Not – A – Rat!” Arnold yells once more.

Olga quickly back paddles. “Oh, I mean cat. His cat is just fine.”

Its now Samuel’s turn to diffuse the situation. “Yes, well, what do you all say to calling the game quits and having a little dessert? How does some decadent chocolate fudge cake sound?”

“If it’s chocolate then I’m all in!” Helga says as she rubs her hands together.

With Arnold and Olga both in agreement, they head back to the dining room, Arnold’s cat-rat all but forgotten.

xxxxx

After spending the last hour sitting just outside of the Hillwood Country Club, Blake takes one last swig from the now empty bottle of bourbon. He can hear the music as the air carries it through the parking lot. He’s purposely avoided the valet station in an effort to avoid being thrown off the club’s grounds. He takes the empty bottle and throws it to the floor on the passenger’s side of the truck. He keeps playing the other day’s conversation over in his mind. “How dare Justin make a fool out of me like he did.” He thinks to himself, his hands sit balled into fists in his lap. He thinks of Suzie and how quickly she went from his girlfriend to Justin’s and he wonders how long the two had actually been seeing each other. He imagines them laughing at him behind his back while he sits oblivious to their treachery. 

Getting out of his car, he makes his way towards the building, hoping he can pass himself off as one of the attendees. He forgets the fact that he is dressed in blue jeans and his Letterman jacket, and not a formal tux like all the other guests. He makes it into the building and uses the sound of the music to lead him to the banquet hall that houses the dance.

Once at the double doors, he slowly cracks one open and slips inside. The room is semi dark as the band plays a slow tune. He scans the room for the treacherous couple and eventually sees them. His eyes narrow as he watches them gently sway to the slow song. Justin’s arms are wrapped around her, holding her close as she rests her head on his shoulder. His anger builds when he sees Suzie look up into Justin’s eyes. They smile at each other as he leans in for a kiss. Unable to take it any longer, Blake steps further into the room. As he starts to make his way over to them he is stopped by one of his teachers. He does his best to pull himself loose of Derek’s grip but it’s of no use, he’s too drunk, and the teacher is too strong.

Derek is a little surprised as he looks down at the boy. “Well, Mr. Hadley, I’m must say that I’m a little shocked to see you here tonight. I was told you were suspended from ALL school activity.”

Blake looks at his teacher with disdain. “Oh, d-don’t worry, I don’t plan on staying. I, uh, j-just need to get a message to one of my friends.”

Derek looks at the boy, something registers as off kilter about him. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. You haven’t been drinking, have you?”

Blake throws his shoulders back, this time he’s successful in breaking Derek’s grasp. “W-what? N-no, I ha-aven’t been drinking.”

“Then why are you slurring your words? Not to mention I can smell it on you. I’m afraid I’m going to have to have you wait outside in the hall while we get in contact with your parents.”

Not wanting to have his dad of all people dragged into this, Blake abandons his quest to talk to Suzie and Justin and bolts for the door. Derek chases after him but Blake is just too fast. He reaches the parking lot just in time to see Blake’s truck skid out of the lot and onto the street. Having no other choice, Derek pulls out his phone and dials 911 to report a drunk driver loose on the streets of Hillwood.

xxxxx

Having finished dinner, Charles invites Tonya outside to the grill where he is set up to make his dessert of cherries jubilee. She watches as he sautés the cherries in a pan with some sugar. After they’ve cooked for a bit he carefully adds a dose of rum. Taking a long match, he strikes it, using the flame to light the cherries. The pan lights up in an impressive show of bubbles and flames as the alcohol burns off, leaving behind only flavor. Once the flame burns down he scoops the mixture over two crystal dessert bowls that are filled with vanilla ice cream. Taking the sweet treat back into the greenhouse, they sit down to savor his masterpiece. 

Once they’ve finished their dessert, Charles gets up and walks over to where the music is set up. After pushing a couple of buttons, the first notes of what has become “their song” starts playing through the speakers. Walking up to Tonya, Charles holds out his hand for her to take. Pushing her chair away from the table, Tonya takes his hand and he leads her to a bit of open floor space in the small greenhouse. Holding her close they sway to Bruno Mars’ Just the Way You Are. 

As they dance Tonya thinks about the night at the observatory when Charles finally told her he loved her. She remembers how this very song played as her face smiled back at her from among the stars. She holds him close, clinging tightly to him as she closes her eyes and imagines them dancing among the stars. It isn’t until he backs away just enough to look down at her that she reopens her eyes. Placing a finger under her chin he quietly speaks.

“Tonya, I can’t tell you how much these last few months have meant to me. I have been secretly in love with you for so long, never allowing myself to even hope that someday we’d be together. But look at us now.” His voice becomes softer and softer as he speaks. “I love you, Tonya. I love you more than there are stars in the Heavens, and I promise that I will always love you, no matter what.”

Before he even finishes the word what, he brings his lips to hers in a gentle, chaste kiss. A soft sigh escapes Tonya as she melts into his kiss. The only thing holding her up are his arms as he wraps them around her. 

xxxxx

Helga holds her sister in a tight hug as they say their good-byes. Samuel shakes Arnold’s free hand as his other one holds a sleeping Phillip to his chest. After making sure Phillip is securely buckled into the Subaru’s car seat he gets into the driver’s seat, starting the engine. They give one final wave good-bye as they pull out of the large, circular driveway. With the radio set to MJZZ they listen to the soothing voice of Nocturnal Ned as he announces the next song. Helga leans her seat back into a reclining position. Closing her eyes, she rests one hand lovingly on Arnold’s thigh as Phillip snoozes peacefully in the back seat. 

After a good twenty minutes of driving, Arnold turns south onto Vine street for the last leg of their drive home.

xxxxx

Having left the greenhouse, Charles and Tonya sit in chairs on the roof top, gazing at the few stars that shine bright enough to be seen through the city lights. Tonya pulls Charles’s tuxedo jacket tighter around her shoulders as she leans against him. His arm sits draped over her shoulders, his head resting on top of hers. Gazing at his watch, he sees that it is already past 11:30. They are going to have to leave now if Tonya is going to make it home before midnight.

He reluctantly nudges her, bringing her out of her trance.

“Hey, you awake?”

She takes a deep breath in then slowly releases it. “Yeah, I was just enjoying being so close to you. You’re very comfortable, you know.”

“Oh? So I’ve become nothing more than an old comfortable piece of furniture?”

She gives a smile. “Mmmm, you’re even better.”

He chuckles as he kisses the top of her head. “Seriously, though, we do need to get going.”

Reluctantly, and with a pout, Tonya gets up and the two head back downstairs to the house. Grabbing her purse and sweater, they head to the garage and get in Charles’s car. Tonya buckles her seat belt but doesn’t like the way the chest strap rubs at her neck. Figuring they are only going a few blocks, she puts her arm through the strap leaving just the lap belt to secure her.

Charles carefully backs his car out of the garage and they drive the few blocks to Tonya’s house. After a bit they turn north onto Vine Street for the last leg of their trip.

xxxxx

Blake sits in his car at the top of Lookout Hill. He’s spent the last half an hour sulking over seeing Suzie in the arms of Justin. His eyelids start to grow heavy and he decides to call it a night. Neglecting his seat belt, he starts the engine, puts the car in drive and takes off down the dirt road. He had turned off his headlights when he left the country club, hoping that the lack of light would make his black truck hard to see in the dark night. Forgetting to turn them back on, he is reckless as he swerves back and forth across the road, the passenger side tires practically falling off the road and into the ditch that runs parallel to it more than once.

Once on the open road he picks up the speed, the arc of his swerves growing greater the faster he goes. Every now and then his eyes start to disappear behind his eyelids, the sharp nod of his head as he dozes off bringing him back to consciousness. He hits Jumbo Street now and is eager to be home, so he presses down a little harder on the accelerator, paying no attention to the street signs as he passes them.

xxxxx

Charles reaches the corner of Vine and Jumbo Street, just a few short blocks from Tonya’s house. As he stops at the stop sign, he notices the Subaru that’s stopped in front of him going the other way. Not seeing any blinkers, and after looking both ways, he continues on through the intersection.

xxxxx

Arnold sits at the stop sign at the corner of Vine and Jumbo Street. Just a couple more blocks to go and they’ll be home. He’s tired and anxious to crawl into his nice, warm bed. He sees a car pull up to the stop sign opposite theirs. Not seeing any turn signals, and after looking both ways, he deems it safe to enter the intersection.

xxxxx

Blake has turned the radio up full blast in an effort to keep himself awake. He speeds down Jumbo Street, closing the gap between himself and his house. Without meaning to, he swerves into the oncoming lane, tugging the steering wheel sharply to the right in an effort to get back into his own lane. The sharp force of the turn causes the back of the truck to fishtail slightly. He concentrates on keeping the car moving in a straight line, not paying attention to the road and still keeping his foot pressed down on the gas pedal. 

He approaches the intersection of Jumbo Street and Vine, blowing through the stop sign. It’s not until he hears the crunching of metal, and feels the truck spinning out of control, that he realizes something has gone terribly wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What-Whaaaat!!!


	113. Chapter 113

Charles slowly enters the intersection a few seconds before Arnold. As the two cars get closer Charles recognizes Arnold and gives him a wave as they approach each other. Arnold starts to smile but his expression quickly turns to one of shock and fear as he gazes past Charles’s car. Wondering what he is looking at, Charles turns his head just in time to see the front end of a large truck barreling down on Tonya’s side of the car. 

Yelling to Tonya to hang on tight, he does his best to swerve out of the way. He almost makes it but Blake’s truck is just too fast and it hits the back end of Charles’s car, causing Charles and Tonya to spin out of control. With only a lap belt to hold her in, Tonya is thrown from her seat and into Charles. As their bodies connect, Charles reaches out, pulling Tonya close to him in an effort to keep her from being jostled around too much. Their car finally comes to a stop in the opposite lane of traffic.

xxxxx

As Arnold enters the intersection he sees the driver of the other car waving at him. With a squint of his eyes he recognizes Charles. Giving the boy a smile, he starts to wave when he notices a dark shape barreling down on them from the intersecting street. He realizes that it is a truck that is about to hit Charles’s car. He gives a quick yell as he slams on the breaks. Hearing her husband’s yell, Helga immediately brings her seat back to an upright position. They both stare out the front windshield in time to see Blake’s truck spinning out of control in front of them. As the car passes them by it clips their front bumper, causing Helga to let out a startled scream as they are pushed aside. The sharp jolt from being hit, combined with his mother’s startled yell, has scared their sleeping child, and he now sits alone in the back seat screaming like a banshee. 

xxxxx

It takes most of Blake’s concentration to keep his truck upright as he fishtails down Jumbo Street, so he doesn’t notice the two cars as they start to pass through the intersection in front of him. Once back in his own lane, he looks out the windshield in time to recognize Charles’s car as it suddenly appears in front of him. Time moves in slow motion as he watches his truck barrel into the back passenger side of the car, one of the two passengers in the front seat being thrown about. The impact sends his truck into a tailspin as he sails uncontrollably through the intersection, the whole time screaming in rapid succession, “Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!”

He is jarred from his impromptu prayer when the impact from hitting Charles’s car throws him against the driver’s side door. He holds onto the steering wheel as he spins through the intersection. The force of his truck hitting the light pole that stands on the corner causes him to lose his grip, and he is thrown forward, his left rib cage hitting the steering wheel as he flies into the dashboard face first, a dull cracking sound can be heard as cartilage connects with hard plastic. 

He holds his sore ribs as he sits up. In the distance he can hear a baby crying and prays that the child is alright. He covers his bloody face with his hands, crying out “Oh my God! What have I done! Oh God, oh God, please don’t let anyone be hurt!” Moments before finally passing out.

xxxxx

There is a moment of stillness as the members of each car gathers their wits. The only sound is that of Little Phillip who sits screaming in his car seat as he reaches towards his mother for comfort. 

Helga frantically reaches for the door handle. “Phillip! It’s okay. Don’t cry, baby, mommy is here! It’s going to be okay!” 

She jumps into the back seat, grabbing at the harness of his car seat. The sudden rush of adrenaline causes Helga’s hands to shake and she lets out a few choice expletives while fumbling with the buckle, trying desperately to undo it. Finally successful, she scoops Phillip up and into a tight bear hug and croons into his ear.

“Shhh, shhh, its okay, baby. Mommy is here, I’ve got you now. You’re okay, everything’s going to be okay.”

It doesn’t take long for Phillip’s wails to settle into mere whimpers as he buries his face into Helga’s chest.

After having moved his car out of the middle of the street, Arnold jumps into the back seat and sits on the other side of Phillip’s car seat. There’s a look of deep concern in his eyes as he looks at Helga.

“How’s he doing?”

Helga continues to embrace her child. “He’ll be fine, he’s just shook up is all. The abruptness of the stop just scared him.”

“Okay, good. Well if everything is okay here, I think I’ll go check on that truck. You should call 911, and then stay here with Phillip."

The two lean across the empty car seat and Arnold places the palm of his hand on Helga’s cheek before giving her a kiss. He thinks about how the night could have turned out and mentally thanks God for keeping his little family safe.

xxxxx

Charles sits with his arms wrapped around a frightened Tonya who leans against him as she shakes uncontrollably. He buries his face into her hair as he gently strokes it doing his best to calm her. Once her shaking begins to subside, he pulls away so he can look into her eyes. He brushes away a stray tear as he gives her a little smile. 

His voice is soft as he speaks. “Hey, are you okay?”

She gives him a small smile as she nods her head. “Yeah, I – I’m fine. Oh, Charles, that was so scary.”

“Yeah, it was. I got so scared when I saw that truck barreling down on you.” He looks out the car’s window towards the smashed truck. “You know, that looks an awful lot like Blake’s truck. You don’t think…..”

Tonya takes a better look at the truck. “You’re right, that very well could be Blake. Oh, Charles, I hope he’s okay!”

Charles and Tonya jump out of their car at the same moment that Arnold leaves his. They meet in the middle of the street. 

Arnold is filled with relief when he sees both Charles and Tonya standing on their own two feet. Both looking none the worse for the wear. 

Not seeing Helga, Tonya gives Arnold a worried look. “Mr. Shortman, is Helga with you? Is she okay? Phillip isn’t here too is he?”

Arnold raises a hand to calm her. “Yes, they are both here but they are okay. How are you two doing?”

They both agree that they are shook up but fine, before gesturing towards the truck.

“We’re fine.” Charles says, “But we think that that might be Blake’s truck.”

“Blake Hadley? Oh, geeze.” Arnold says as he turns and jogs over to investigate.”

xxxxx

Arnold is the first to arrive at the truck, with Charles and Tonya close behind. Surveying the scene from the outside its obvious that there is no saving the vehicle. With the passenger side securely wedged into the tall light pole there’s not much that can be done to save it. Seeing the extensive damage, Arnold becomes worried about the vehicle’s occupant and is happy to find the driver’s side door is unlocked. Struggling a bit, he is finally able to open it and he peers in to see Blake passed out across the truck’s bench seat. He steps up and into the truck’s cab, and with his right knee on the seat, his left leg sticks out behind him as he hovers over Blake. 

The first thing he notices is some blood that is smeared across the dashboard from where the boy’s nose hit and he gives a little grimace. Reaching out, he places two fingers on Blake’s neck and checks for a pulse. He feels the slow, rhythmic beat against his fingers and lets out the breath he has been holding. Placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder now, he gives him a gentle shake as he calls his name.

“Blake, its me, Mr. Shortman, can you hear me? Blake, Blake, wake up.”

He starts to give up, thinking that the boy is out cold, when he feels him begin to stir. Shaking his shoulder a bit harder, he talks louder.

“Blake! It’s Arnold, Arnold Shortman. Can you hear me?”

A moan escapes the boy as a hand comes up to his aching forehead. Opening his eyes, he lays there for a moment as he slowly regains consciousness. Taking a deep breath in, he speaks in a confused voice.

“Mr. Shortman? Where – where am I?”

“You’re in your truck, there’s been an accident.”

Blake’s memory slowly comes back as the last images he saw begins to fill his brain.

“An accident?” His eyes widen and he tries to get up, his hand going to his bruised ribs. He panics as he remembers seeing Charles and Tonya right before hitting them. Through drunken tears Blake begs for information. “Tonya! Oh my God, Tonya! Tell me she’s okay!”

A strong whiff of alcohol hits Arnold’s nose as Blake speaks. He places a hand on the frantic boy to keep him still. “Its okay, Blake, she’s alright. She’s a little shook up but is okay. You need to just lay still until the paramedics get here.”

The light from the street lamp glints off something that sits on the passenger side floor, catching Arnold’s eye. Taking a closer look, he shakes his head as he sees the empty bottle of bourbon. 

Backing out of the car, Charles pumps Arnold for information. “It is Blake, right? How is he? Is he hurt? What the hell was he thinking, speeding through the intersection like that?”

Arnold gives Charles a solemn look. “I’m afraid he wasn’t thinking anything. He’s been drinking and I’m no expert, but by the looks of things I’d say he’s been drinking quite a bit.”

This new information infuriates Charles as he thinks about how much worse things could have been. He starts to lunge for the truck as he yells. 

“What! That stupid son of a bitch! He could have killed someone. He could have killed Tonya.”

Arnold grabs him by the arm, holding him at bay just as the sound of sirens can be heard off in the distance.

“I know you’re angry, Charles, but you have to calm down.”

“Calm down? How can you expect me to calm down? He could have hurt your son and wife too you know.”

Arnold starts to lose his temper now as the true gravity of what could have happened finally dawns on him.

“Don’t you think I know that? The two people that mean the most to me in this whole damn world are sitting in that car right now, scared and shook up. You don’t think I realize that in an instant they could have been taken away from me because of some idiot’s stupid choices?”

“Come on, guys.” Tonya says, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “We can’t think about all the ‘what if’s’. We just need to be thankful that it wasn’t worse than it was.”

The two stand staring at each other as the EMT’s arrive, followed shortly by a couple of Hillwood PD cars and a fire truck. 

A couple of EMT’s exit the ambulance as soon as it comes to a stop. They head over to the crumpled truck as one of the police officers gathers what information she can from the only adult in the group as the other one scans the accident scene. Arnold answers the woman’s questions as best he can before she moves on to the two teens in order to continue her interrogation before moving on to Helga. 

xxxxx

Time passes slowly as police reports are taken from all involved, and Blake is finally extricated from his car and placed on a stretcher. Charles sees Blake being wheeled off, and with his eyes shooting daggers, he rushes to the boy. As he gets closer he begins to yell.

“You! You stupid son of a bitch! Do you realize the danger you put everyone in? What the hell, Blake!”

Blake tries to sit up as he pleads with Charles. “I’m, sorry!’ He cries, the effort of talking causing him to grimace with pain from his battered ribs. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

As Charles gets closer his path is blocked by an Officer McMahon. “Son, I’m going to have to ask you to step back and not interfere.”

Charles looks at the officer and the two stand staring at each other before Charles turns and walks back to Tonya. 

Unable to complete a field sobriety test, Blake is loaded up into the ambulance and whisked off to Hillwood General Hospital where two of the officers that were on scene will be waiting for him. 

With it being the night of prom the streets of Hillwood are filled with activity, so with their investigations completed, and Blake’s totaled truck being towed away, the remaining officers head out to their next call.

Finally left on their own, Charles stands with his arm wrapped protectively around Tonya. Helga stands holding Phillip against her chest. She rests her cheek on the top of his head as he soundly sleeps. Turning to her husband, she places a hand on his arm. “Come on, Arnoldo, let’s go home.”

Nodding to his wife, they say their good-byes to the young couple and head back to their car. Charles and Tonya do the same, the two couples waving to each other as they head in their opposite directions.

xxxxx

With both sets of parents having been called about the accident, Tonya’s parents swing open the front door the moment they see the two pull up in Charles’s now beat up car. With a rush of hugs and kisses Tonya assures her parents that she is okay and tells them that she will be in after she says good night to Charles. 

Once left alone on the doorstep, Charles pulls Tonya into a tight embrace. “You’re sure you’re going to be okay?” He says as he looks down at her.

Nodding her head, she gives him a small smile. “Yeah, we were lucky tonight, you know?”

“Yeah, I can’t even think about what could have been. I mean, if………”

Tonya places a finger to his lips. “Shh, don’t.”

He smiles at her as he leans down, placing his lips to hers. The kiss is deep and lingering, neither one wanting it to end. It’s only when Tonya’s dad flickers the front porch light on and off that Charles pulls back, a deep blush covering his cheeks.

“Well, I guess that’s my signal to be on my way.”

“Yeah, I’m sure your parents are eager to have you home too. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With one last kiss to her cheek, Charles gives a little salute to the figure that stands watching in the window and heads to his car, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.

xxxxx

With a sudden desire to keep her child close, Helga lays Phillip down as she crawls into bed next to him. With an arm wrapped around his small body, she closes her eyes, quickly drifting off to sleep. A few minutes later Arnold enters the bedroom, walking up to where his wife and child lay. He watches as they breathe in unison, the up and down motion of Phillip’s chest keeping pace with his mother’s. 

The relief that Arnold feels at having his little family safe at home leaves him drained as he finally pours himself into the bed. He moves as close to his son as he can safely get, throwing his arm around both him and Helga. Closing his eyes, it’s finally his turn to drift off into a dreamless sleep.

xxxxx

Blake lays in his hospital bed, his head feeling as if a freight train is running through it. He does his best to lie still so as not to disturb what has been discovered to be his two cracked ribs. He brings a hand up to his face, the fingers gently touching his broken nose. Finally starting to sober up, he wonders how he could have made such a mess of things. How could he let his emotions spiral out of control like that? He knows that he’s lucky, that things could have been horribly worse. His stomach turns as he thinks of what could have happened to Tonya, or worse yet, the Shortman’s little baby. He stares at the ceiling when he hears the door to his room slowly open. 

Thinking that it’s one of the night nurses he turns towards the door only to see his parents come walking in. He braces himself for the scolding of his life, but instead he is met with silence, his dad’s poker face impossible to read. With a squaring of his shoulders his father walks over to his bedside. His eyes trail over his battered son, and when he speaks, his voice is calm and even.

“How could you let this happen?”


	114. Chapter 114

Johnathan Wendell Hadley, III was born into a family steeped in tradition. A family whose blood ran blue, and the importance of keeping it that way drilled into them for generations. From the moment he took his first breath, his future was decided. He was told what private schools he would attend, the group of people he would associate with, and from which families he could choose when it came time for picking an appropriate mate. Being the eldest of three children, he never questioned his role in the family, and felt it his duty to look after his younger brother and sister, thus strengthening his need to be the voice of authority.

His choice of career already was a done deal, for he was descended from a long line of prestigious lawyers and, if he wanted a college education, had no choice but to follow in their footsteps. Under the motto of “Nothing but the Best Will Suffice”, he attended the same Ivy League college as his forefathers. He took up the same position of star quarterback on the school’s football team, and, although it was a struggle for him, graduated in the top ten of his class. 

Upon graduation he went to work in the family’s law firm, where he spent his days in the heavy shadows of those that came before him. After always having things handed to him, it came as quite a shock when he was now made to actually work his way to the top of the firm. The shoes that were placed before him were big, and he began to have trouble filling them in the manner that was expected. His inability to perform in the proper way made him the recipient of many a disappointed shake of the head and he started to wonder if there wasn’t more to life than being a small fish in a big pond. 

He knew that if he was ever going to be the success he was sure he could be, then he needed to get away. He needed to get out of the shadows to a new place where no one ever heard of the Hadley name. So that’s what he did. 

He settled on the town of Hillwood because it was big enough to support a hopefully thriving law firm, while still being small enough for him to be the big fish that lurked inside of him. When Johnathan left the east coast his father did nothing to hide the disappointment on his face. He assured his son that he’d be running back, tail between his legs, within the year, and not to expect him to pick up the pieces when he did. If his father’s predictions were meant to deter him, then he was to be sorely disappointed, because in reality, all they did do was to fuel the boy’s fire. Within five years he had built his little one man show into one of Hillwood’s top law firms, employing only those who graduated top in their class.

He became a member of Hillwood’s jet set, rubbing shoulders with families such as the Lloyds and the Smythe-Higgins. It was at one of the Lloyds numerous fund raising events where he met his wife Elizabeth. Theirs was a whirlwind romance, with them becoming engaged and then married all within the first year of having met. They were blissfully in love, and overjoyed when, a year later, they’d received the news that they were to become parents. 

On the day their first son was born, Johnathan had made a promise that he was not going to be the same type of father that his dad was, and that his children were going to be free to determine their own lives and how to run them. Unfortunately, though, that was not to be the case for you see, in the end, as happens with a lot of people, we tend to become our parents whether we like it or not. It was subtle at first, as Johnathan very carefully picked and chose just who his son was allowed to associate with. By the time his second came along he’d already had both children’s futures mapped out. When his wife would accuse him of turning into his own dad, he would refute her claim by stating how his children were allowed to attended public school and not some stodgy private facility miles away. 

As his two boys grew he did his best to mold them into the type of people befitting the name Hadley. They were taught by the adage that, if you’re not first, you’re last, and always pushed to be the best. It brought him great pride every time his sons excelled, placing any trophies earned proudly on display next to his own. 

This way of parenting worked well for a while, and they were quite the happy family. It wasn’t until his younger son started approaching his teen years when things began to change. The boy had a bit of a rebellious side, much like his own, and the two seemed to continually butt heads at every turn. They began fighting over every little thing. If he said the sky was blue, his son would say it was green. There were nights when the tension between the two was so thick all it would take was the smallest of a spark to ignite a fight that would go on for days, with neither one willing to give in. Sometimes, after one of these small explosions, Johnathan would hold up in his study, wondering where things went wrong between the two, and wondering why the boy couldn’t be more like his brother. Its’ not that he doesn’t love him, because he does. Very much so in fact. It’s just that somewhere along the way things between them changed, and now, as he looks at his son laying in that hospital bed, he wonders if things can ever go back to the way they once were.

xxxxx

It was during another in a long line of work related cocktail parties when Johnathan had finally checked his phone for any missed messages. His heart practically dropped into his stomach as he listened to the officer on the other end inform him that his son had been in an accident and was being transported to Hillwood General Hospital. Getting his wife’s attention, he remembers the look of shock on her face as he told her about the accident. Saying a quick good-bye to their hosts, they immediately made their way to the hospital.

Johnathan looks down at his son now, the sound of his wife’s quiet whimpers mix with the blood pressure and heart rate monitors that beep in the background. He can see the look of fright in the boy’s eyes, making him look to be closer to six than sixteen. Blake lays propped up because of his nose injury, and the area under both his eyes have started turning a dark purple. 

Johnathan fights hard to stave off the rush of emotions that threaten to burst their way out, making his expression hard to read. Gathering his wits, he lets out a deep breath before speaking.

“How could you let this happen?” He says in a quiet, monotone voice. 

Still not completely clear over the details of the last few hours, Blake struggles to give an explanation. “Dad, I – I’m sorry. I – don’t know what came over me. I….”

“Do you realize what could have happened? You could have killed someone.”

“I – I know, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking….” Blake’s words trail off as he covers his face, sobbing into his hands. 

“No, son, you weren’t. Do you know how scared your mother and I were?”

Blake lifts his face from his hands, the pain meds he was given has made him drowsy and confused, making him wonder if he’s hearing his father right, causing him to give his dad a questioning look. “Sc-scared? You were scared?”

Losing his composure, Blake’s dad gives a little shout, startling his wife as well as his son. “Of course we were scared! Do you have any idea what it’s like to get a phone call from the police telling you that your son was hurt and is in the hospital? We had no clue what had happened or how badly you were hurt.”

“Dad, I – I’m okay, I…”

Fighting to hold on to his emotions, Johnathan face turns a bright red as he waves a hand towards his son. “You’re okay? You don’t look okay.”

“It’s just my ribs and my nose. Nothing major happened, so I don’t know what you’re so worried about.”

Finally losing his control, Blake’s dad throws his arms in the air as he yells at his son. “You don’t know what we’re worried about? We love you and we could have lost you tonight! THAT’S what we’re so worried about. You could have killed yourself, not to mention any one of those people in the other cars. So don’t you tell me not to worry.”

The word “love” throws Blake off guard for a moment. He tries to think of the last time he’s ever heard his father tell him he loves him and can’t come up with anything. The full weight of what his folks must be going through finally hits him, causing the guilt he feels to double in intensity.

“I, I’m sorry, Dad. I, don’t know what else to say, besides I’m sorry.”

Never being one to properly handle emotional situations, Johnathan gives the back of his neck a rub as he tries to come up with something to say.

“Yeah, well, we’re just glad you’re okay and all, but don’t think this is over. I, uh, I need to go talk to this Officer McMahon fellow and see what we have to do next. You, just get some rest and I’ll be back in a little bit.”

“Okay. And, Dad?”

“Yes, son?”

“Ummm.” He struggles for something to say. “Uh, well, you know.”

Johnathan gives his son a small smile. “Yeah, I know.” He walks past his wife. She places a hand on his cheek, giving him a small kiss before he leaves, her way of letting him know that everything’s going to be okay. Walking over to her son, she begins to dote over him like only a mother can.

xxxxx

Arnold lays on his back with his eyes closed. He can feel the weight of his wife press down on him as she lays on top of him. She nuzzles into his ear and he smiles as he wraps his arms around her, letting out a little giggle when her tongue brushes across his flesh. He pulls her closer, his skin covered in goose bumps as she begins to lick his cheek. He gives a small moan when her tongue quickly flits across his lips, all four of her feet holding him firmly to the mattress. He wonders just what kind of game she’s playing when he hears her start to make little grunting sounds. Cracking his eyes open, he looks into her eyes as she looks down at him. He’s confused for a moment as he wonders just when her blue eyes had become brown. The morning haze begins to clear from his head as he fully opens his eyes. The face that looks back down at him is definitely not Helga’s and he gives a shout as he realizes just who it is that’s been licking him. 

He quickly sits up, shoving Patrick off him as he does, causing the pig to fly off the bed. The second the pig’s hooves hit the floor, he runs squealing out the bedroom door. The abruptness of Arnold’s actions cause the muscles in his sore body to cry out in rebellion and, giving a second yell, he immediately lays back down on the bed.

Hey lay there groaning as he waits for the pain in his muscles to settle back down. The events of the past thirty plus hours play through his mind, making him once again want to be close to his wife and child. Slowly rolling to his side, he painfully hangs his legs over the side of the bed and stands up. He shuffles out of the bedroom and to the top of the stairs. He stands looking down at them, knowing the amount of pain he’s going to feel as he slowly takes them one by one. Taking a deep breath, he takes that first step down. As his foot hits the step ripples of pain course through his body causing him to moan like an old man. Once he finally reaches the bottom he shuffles down the hallway towards the kitchen. When he reaches the doorway he peers inside and sees Phillip happily sitting in his highchair, the morning’s breakfast of oatmeal and bananas smeared across his grinning face.

Seeing his father, Phillip lets out a happy trill as he reaches out with gummy hands. Arnold slowly walks over to the table and takes a seat across from his wife who sits with her head propped up by one hand as the other clutches her mug of steaming coffee. She raises her eyes to him, the dark circles under them give away the fact that she did not have a good night’s sleep. He gives her a small smile.

“You look like I feel. You not sleep well either?”

“Ugh, I still feel like I’ve been run over by a Mac truck. How about you?”

“Same. I thought we’d be feeling better by today.”

“Me too. Phoebe called me yesterday as soon as Gerald told her what had happened. She told me it would probably take a couple of days for the shock our bodies went through to start wearing off.”

Arnold turns to look at his son. “What I don’t get is why we’re so miserable but Phillip isn’t.”

“According to Pheebs that’s because he was relaxed and sleeping when the truck hit us. We, on the other hand, tensed our bodies up in anticipation of being hit, which caused our muscles to go into shock or something like that and that’s what we’re feeling now.”

Arnold looks from his wife to his son, then back to his wife again, the weight of what he could have lost still very real to him. He reaches out, taking her hand into both of his. It’s warm from holding the hot mug of coffee which somehow soothes him. He lets the warmth fill him for a moment before bringing her hand to his lips. He lets them linger there for a moment, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Well, if this is the worst we have to suffer then I’ll take it any day over the alternative. I love you, Helga, and don’t know what I’d do if anything ever was to happen to you.”

The serious look in his eyes momentarily throws her off guard and she opens her mouth to say something but finds herself at a loss. Certain that life for her would definitely cease if anything was to ever happen to him she forbids herself to let her mind go there, and pulls her hand from his.

“Don’t be silly, Arnoldo, nothing is ever going to happen to either of us for we are destined to live long and happy lives together as we watch our children, and their children and even THEIR children grow up around us.”

Arnold’s eyes beg for assurance as he looks at her. “You promise, Helga?”

A soft smile crosses her face as she reaches out, placing a hand on his cheek. “Yeah, Arnold, I do.”

They smile at each other, their quiet moment broken when Arnold feels something cold and slimy hit his cheek. Helga laughs as she grabs a napkin and wipes off the now cold oatmeal and bananas from her husband’s face. 

“Well, I guess that’s his way of telling us he’s done with breakfast. Why don’t you clean him up while I make you something to eat before you head off for work?”

As he gets up to grab a fresh washcloth he notices Patrick sitting in the doorway. Remembering how the pig was the cause of his rude awakening earlier he gives the pesky porcine his best menacing glare. Patrick raises his snout to the air as if to say “You don’t scare me” before running off to look for his brothers and sisters.

xxxxx

Arnold sits in the idling Packard while he says good-bye to his wife for the day. She holds their son on her hip as she leans down to look at her husband through the car’s open window. 

“Are you sure you can’t take the day off from work, Arnoldo? I hate to think of you suffering through the day when you could be relaxing at home.”

He shifts around in his seat, trying to find a comfortable position. “I’d like to, but I have a 10:00 parent meeting and another one later in the afternoon with Dunn to discuss that summer career class he wants me to teach.”

“Ohhh, wow, I’ve forgotten all about that. When is it again? I hope it isn’t going to get in the way of Seattlecon.”

“No, it actually doesn’t start until the week after we get back.” He mumbles a quiet “unfortunately” under his breath.

Helga gives him a raise of her eyebrow. “What, I didn’t catch what you said at the end there.”

He thinks fast and lets out a quick “Fortunately! It doesn’t start until after we get back, fortunately. Anyway, I – I need to get going, don’t want to be late you know.”

“Riiiight.” Helga says, not totally believing him. 

She leans into the window, giving him a quick kiss. “Text me when you get to the school.”

“Huh? Why?”

Helga kicks at the ground with her foot. “Because, I just want to know you’ve made it there safely.”

Understanding where she’s coming from, Arnold leans forwarding, giving her a kiss. 

“I’ll be fine, but I’ll text you anyway. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

She watches as he pulls out of the driveway, not looking away until he’s turned the corner and is out of sight. Holding her son close, she walks to the kitchen door where Patrick sits, waiting for it to be opened. He passes by her, giving her a grunt as he makes his own way down the sidewalk. She gives him a warning yell.

“Good-bye to you too, and whatever you do, do NOT bring back anymore pigs when you come back! Do you hear me?”

With a grunt and a flick of his curly tail, he ignores her as he continues on down the street.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’d like to thank the movie Talladega Nights for coming up with the line “If you’re not first, you’re last”. 
> 
> Also, I took the time to flesh out Blake’s family a bit because, as I’ve mentioned before, this story will be ending soon. It will pick up three years later in a new story titled “As Time Goes By”, and in it, if I decide to take it in a particular direction, Arnold and Helga just may need the assistance of a good lawyer. So by introducing him here, I won’t have to go into it in the sequel. Thank you all so much for your continued support of my story, and as always, reviews are very welcomed. :)


	115. Chapter 115

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I claim no rights to Harry Potter nor The Munsters :D

With this morning being the first time Arnold’s been behind the wheel of a car since Saturday’s accident, he takes his time as he drives into work, being extra cautious when passing through any intersections. When he reaches the corner of Vine and Jumbo streets he notices leftover bits of red plastic scattered about the intersecting streets, and wonders if it’s Blake’s or Charles’s car that is missing it’s rear brake light. His mind starts to wander back to the events of that night, and he forcefully pushes them aside. Trying his best to move past the ordeal, he’s made a silent promise that he’s not going to allow himself to dwell over it. Checking twice to make sure the intersection is clear, he slowly enters it, heaving a mental sigh of relief when he comes to the other end unscathed. 

When he finally pulls into the school’s parking lot he is happy to see an empty spot next to Gerald’s car. As he pulls up he sees that Gerald is still in his car, and walks up to the driver’s side window. Distracted by his phone, Gerald doesn’t notice his friend staring into his window, and he gives a little jump when he catches Arnold out of the corner of his eye. Arnold starts to laugh at Gerald’s reaction but is stopped short, wincing in pain from his still sore muscles. Gerald gives him a “that’s what you get for laughing” look as he come out of the car. 

Looking his friend up and down, Gerald lets out a low whistle. “Man, Arnold, you look like Hell warmed over. You sure you’re okay to be up and around?”

Arnold gives a nod of his head as he slowly starts heading towards the school. “Yeah, I’ll be okay. Nothing’s broken or anything, it’s more just the soreness that’s bothering me.”

“If you say so. How are Helga and Phillip holding up?”

“Phillip’s fine, but I’m afraid Helga’s just as bad off as I am.”

“Yeah, Phoebe told me you two would probably be pretty stiff for a while. You ever hear anything about how the kids are doing?”

“Not really. Of all of us Blake sustained the most injuries, so he was taken to the hospital. As for Charles and Tonya, they went home straight from the accident scene and we haven’t heard from either of them since. I’ll check in on Tonya later today, if she made it to school that is.”

The two men continue on into the building, parting ways at the teacher’s lounge. Arnold gives his friend a good-bye wave as he enters the small room, anxious for another cup of hot coffee. As he steps inside he sees Derek and Travis in deep conversation by the coffee pot. The sound of the door opening causes Derek to look up. Seeing Arnold, he gives him a smile.

“Well, speak of the devil. Your ears must have been burning, we were just talking about you.”

Arnold gives him a lift of his eyebrow. “Is that so? All good stuff, I hope?”

“Yep.” Travis says as he adds a packet of sugar to his coffee. “Derek here was just filling me in on the events of Saturday night. Sounds like you ended up right in the thick of things.”

Arnold gives his head a scratch. “How on earth did word of the accident spread so quickly?”

Derek steps aside so Arnold can access the coffee. “Easy, Sally has a friend who’s an ER nurse. She called Sally and, well, you know the old saying, telegraph, telephone, teleSally.” 

Arnold gives a little chuckle at his co-worker’s expense as he fills his travel mug. “What I keep wondering about is what was Blake doing out on the road that night, especially since all his friends were busy with prom.”

“Oh, so you didn’t hear?” Derek asks.

“Um, no, hear what?”

Derek gives Travis a quick glance before retelling his piece to the story. 

“Yeah, seems the boy had a score to settle with his friend so he made his way to where prom was being held and snuck into the ballroom. I intercepted him before he had a chance to disrupt things too much, but when he saw that he was caught he turned around and hightailed it out of there. I tried to run after him but I tell ya, even plastered like he was, that kid is fast. Anyway, all I could do was to call the cops to let them know that a drunk driver was on the loose.”

Arnold rubs the back of his neck as he shakes his head in disappointment. “Honestly, all this trouble over someone’s nose getting bent out of shape.” He thinks about the correlation of what he just said and Blake’s broken nose and gives a little snicker. “Um, no pun intended there.”

His co-workers laugh along with him before gathering up their belongings and heading off to their respective classrooms. Travis gives Arnold a pat on the back on his way out the door.

“Well, I’m just glad no one was seriously hurt. Say hello to the missus for me when you see her. I’ll catch you guys later.”

“I’ll be sure to do that.” Arnold says as he heads off to his office, eager to avoid any more talk of Saturday’s events.”

xxxxx

Blake sits at the edge of his hospital bed as he waits for his parents to return with his release papers. He’s wrapped one arm around his body to hold his sore ribs. He sports two black eyes from his broken nose and apparently a gash to his forehead that he didn’t even realize he had sustained until after it was stitched up. He hopes it heals without leaving a scar, thinking to himself that that’s all he’d need is to be the butt of many a Harry Potter joke for the rest of his life. 

He is torn from his thoughts when the door to his room opens and his parents come walking through it. His mom looks down at him with a warm smile as she places a hand to his cheek.

“You ready to leave this place, Blake?”

He gives her a smile while nodding his head. Without saying anything he gets up and walks to the door where a nurse is waiting with a wheel chair to escort him out of the hospital. He sits with his head lowered as he’s wheeled to the parking lot. His dad had pulled the car up to the pick-up spot and stands holding the back door open for him. He gives his dad a thank you nod of his head as he slides into the backseat, and solemnly fastens his seat belt. The whole ordeal has left Blake humbled and a bit embarrassed and he sits quietly as they make their way home. 

After a bit they make their turn onto Jumbo Street. As they reach Vine his stomach does a little flip. His memories of the night are a bit sketchy but the ordeal is still fresh enough to cause him to mentally blanch as they pass through the intersection. As they continued on he was overtaken by the sudden urge to have his dad stop the car. Leaning forward, he taps his father on his shoulder.

“Um, Dad, can we make a quick stop before going home? There’s something I need to do.”

His dad looks at him through the rear view mirror. “Oh? And what might that be?”

“It’s – just something I need to take care of. It won’t take long.”

His mother turns and gives him a worried look. “Now, Blake, you heard what the doctor said, you are going to need to take it easy for the next few weeks if you want to be able to make it back to school before the end of the year.”

“I know, Mom, and I promise, this won’t take long.”

His parents share a look before relenting. “Okay, son.” His dad says, “Just remember to be quick. Now where do you want to go?”

“It’s just a couple of more blocks, we’re almost there.”

They go back to driving in silence until Blake gives out a little shout.

“We’re here, just pull over where ever.”

His dad does as instructed and Blake slowly, and painfully, makes his way out of the back seat. Leaning down he peers back into the car.

“I’ll only be a few minutes, I promise.”

With that, he closes the car’s door and walks up the steps to Charles’s house.

xxxxx

Tonya had woken up that morning still sore from being tossed around in Charles’s car. With the okay from her parents, she made the decision to take the day off from school so she could rest. Once her parents both left for work, she found herself alone with her thoughts and didn’t like it very much. Missing her boyfriend, she shoots him a text, letting him know that she’s coming over. He’s quick with his reply, telling her that he can’t wait to see her. 

The two now sit in his living room, channel surfing through the plethora of morning TV shows. Not really interested in the dramatics of daytime soaps or talk shows, they settle on an old black and white episode of The Munsters, thinking the antics of Herman and family is just what they need to brighten their moods. Charles’s arm is bruised and sore from where she plowed into it when Blake’s truck hit them, and she’s careful not to aggravate it. The sit giggling over the show’s silliness and turn to look at each other. The moment their eyes meet their giggling stops and Charles brings up his good arm, reaching out to run his fingers down her cheek. 

He gives her a soft smile as he starts running his fingers through her hair. 

“It’s so good to hear you laugh.” He says as his face moves closer to hers.

Her voice is whisper soft as she replies. “Yeah, it’s good to see you smiling too. Oh, Charles, I…”

Her words are cut off as his mouth covers hers in a soft kiss. His hand moves to the back of her head, pulling it closer as the kiss deepens. They part long enough to quickly gaze into each other’s eyes before partaking in a second kiss, but, just at their lips touch, there is a knock at the front door.

With irritation, Blake pulls away from Tonya. “That had better NOT be some stupid salesman at the door!” he says as he gets up. “Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

Sharing in Charles’s frustration, Tonya turns her attention back to the TV, growing curious when she hears a familiar voice.”

Charles stands in disbelief when he opens the door, exposing Blake on the other side. Planting his feet firmly, he stands tall as he gives the boy an angry look.

“Hadley? What in the hell are you doing here?”

It’s a struggle, but Blake manages to hold his hands out in front of him as he answers Charles.

“I know, I’m the last person you expected to see, and I don’t blame you if you slam the door in my face, but I have something that needs getting off my chest. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to come in for a minute.”

Charles is about to turn him away when Tonya comes walking up behind him. Showing just as much shock as Charles, she gives Blake a quizzical look.

“Blake? Why, you’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here.”

Blake wasn’t expecting to see Tonya, and is thrown off guard a bit.

“Tonya! I – I didn’t expect to see you here. Actually, though, what I have to say goes for you, too, so I guess it’s a good thing you’re here after all. So, can I come in?”

Wanting to say no, Charles is outvoted when Tonya invites him in. 

“Alright, but make it quick.” She says as she gently pulls Charles away from the door.

They lead him to the family room, turning off the TV so there’s no distractions. They are both eager to hear what’s so important, before sending him out the door and on his way.

Blake sits down with his head lowered, nervously twiddling his fingers as he drums up the courage to speak. He looks up when he hears Charles clear his voice.

“So, you have something to tell us?” Charles says as he peers down at him.

“Um, yeah, I guess I do.” His gaze goes from Charles to Tonya, then back down to his lap before he continues on.

“Well?” Charles says, the annoyance in his voice is quite apparent.

Blake carefully stands with a wince as he holds his sore ribs. “I just came over to say that I’m sorry. What I did was stupid, and when I think of what could have happened because of my stupid pride, well, it’s tearing me up inside.”

Charles gives him a nasty look and begins to yell. “You should be sorry, Blake, you could have killed someone that night! You…..”

He stops when he feels Tonya’s hand on his shoulder. He turns to look at her as she speaks.

“We all know what could have happened. What’s important is that it didn’t.” 

She speaks directly to Blake now. “If you’ve come here asking for forgiveness, then I’m afraid that that’s something that’s going to have to wait. It’s too soon and feelings are still too raw for either of us to start to forgive. But just the mere act of you coming here and apologizing shows me at least that you’re sincere in what you say.”

“I am! Oh, Tonya, believe me, I really am.”

“I do believe you, Blake, and it’s good for you to apologize, but that alone doesn’t make up for what you did. Like I said, we’re going to need some time. Right, Charles?”

Tonya gives him a little nudge when he doesn’t speak up right away. Not wanting to come off as an ass himself, he begrudgingly agrees.

“Uh, yeah, I guess. So, uh what kind of time are you looking at for everything that happened?”

Blake moves his hand from his sore ribs to the back of his neck and gives it a little rub.

“Well, I have to appear at court to go over the charges and stuff, but my dad thinks that I will most likely have my license suspended and be put on probation for a few years. Plus I’ll probably get stuck doing community service, but at least I won’t get kicked out of school. I still have two weeks left on my original suspension with another two weeks tagged on to that from the doctor to give my ribs and nose more time to heal. So if I’m lucky I’ll make it back to school a couple of weeks before the end of the year.”

“What about your school work? How are you going to keep up?” Charles asks, hoping that he hasn’t come off as too interested in what happens to Blake.

“Oh, well, I still have the tutor my dad hired, plus he’ll be bringing me my school work every week so I can keep up.”

Feeling sorry for the guy, Tonya offers up her help much to Charles’s surprise.

“Well, if you need any help keeping up, I guess I’d be okay with helping you out. I’m pretty good with English and history, and Charles can help you with math. Right, Charles?” She says as she gives her boyfriend another prod with her elbow.

“Huh? Oh, uh, I guess. As a last resort that is.”

Blake is touched at their offers to help, especially after the trouble he’s caused and gives them an embarrassed smile.

“Uh, wow, thanks guys. I – didn’t expect that.”

Charles whispers under his breath, “Heh, neither did I.”

“What was that?” Tonya questions.

“Nothing, nothing at all. Anyway, is there anything else, Blake?”

Picking up on Charles’s que that their little meeting is over, Blake shakes his head. 

“No, that’s all, I guess. Again, I’m really sorry guys. Anyway, I gotta go, my parents are waiting in the car.”

Once they say their good-byes Charles closes the door and looks at Tonya.

“I don’t get it, the guy nearly kills us, and you offer up not only yourself as help, but me too?”

Tonya smiles up at him. “Of course, I mean, come on. He looked so sad, and I really do believe that he’s sorry. I have a good feeling that we did the right thing. You’ll see, just wait.”

Charles moves closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. “If you say so, Tonya.” He says as he leans in to kiss her.

xxxxx

Arnold lays on his back staring up at the ceiling. The light from the bedside lamp illuminates a small circle above his head that he lazily studies. He has just spent the last half an hour soaking in an extra hot tub of water, and the warmth has done its job of soothing his sore muscles. He is finding it hard to keep his eyes open and starts to drift off when he hears soft footsteps approach the bedroom. Turning towards the door his eyes take in his wife as she stands barefooted, wearing nothing but her sheer pink nightgown. The soft light from the bedside lamp shines on her, causing the curves of her body to show as a dark silhouette beneath the flimsy material. 

She walks over to him, a look of concern in her eyes, and she sits beside him. She runs her fingers through his hair, maneuvering it into the messy spikes that she loves so much. She lets her fingers trail down to his cheek and she gently brushes it with the back of her hand.

“Still sore huh?” 

He nods as he looks up at her. “Yeah, I really must have wrenched my back cause it hurts the worse. How about you? You seem to be fairing much better.”

She gives a slight shrug of her shoulders. “Eh, I’m not 100%, but I am better. I think running after Phillip all day’s helped to loosen up the muscles.”

She lays next to him, nuzzling into his neck. She begins to nibble, causing a shiver to run up his spine.

“Uh, Helga? I don’t know if you’re going to want to start something that I can’t finish.”

She stops nuzzling long enough to answer him. “Who says you have to do anything? Hmmm?”

He smiles as her tongue trails across his Adam’s apple. “Oh, well, in that case…”

She starts to trail her kisses down his bare chest, causing a soft moan to escape him when she bites at his nipple. Her hands roam down to the waistband of his pajama bottoms. Grabbing at the worn elastic, she tugs them down, exposing the fact that he is indeed ready for whatever she may have in store. 

Sliding the pesky pants off his legs, she kisses the inside of his thighs and works her way up to the mother lode. Once there she takes him in her hand, giving him a gentle squeeze causing his emerald orbs to roll up into his eyelids. 

She strokes him for a bit, stopping every now and then to place soft nibbles here and there. He can’t take it anymore and grabs her head with both hands, holding it in place as he gives his hips a thrust. She takes this as her que that he is ready and, slipping out of her nightgown, pulls herself up and sits straddling him as he gets lost inside of her.

She is careful not to hurt him further as she begins her slow ride, with each gentle thrust of her hips helping to finally put Saturday night's events behind them.


	116. Chapter 116

Arnold sits on the family room couch with a giggling Phillip sitting happily on his knees. Drool sits pooled on the young boy’s chin, threatening to ooze down onto his father’s lap. Arnold sings as he bounces Phillip in cadence with the tune. At the height of the song Arnold lifts the boy up and over his head, the resting drool finally letting loose, hitting Arnold between his eyes. Placing Phillip back onto his knees, he uses the back of his hand to wipe away the drool as it slowly slides down his cheek. Wiping his hand across his worn t-shirt he gives the boy a fake glare.

“Thanks a lot, Philly Boy. What a way to treat your poor old dad.”

Phillip’s smile widens as he mimics the last thing Arnold said.

“Dada.”

Arnold happily nods his head. “That’s right, Phillip. I’m Dada. Can you say it again? Da-Da.”

Getting a happy response from his father, Phillip lets out with a heartier “DADA!” The boy smiles widely, exposing two short rows of perfectly white teeth, four on the top, and two on the bottom with two more finally poking through his pink gums.

A moment later Helga joins them with laptop in hand and a notebook filled with outlines of future chapters for “Arlo’s Adventures”. 

“What’s all the racket in here?” She says, giving her two men a big smile.

Phillip turns towards the sound of his mother’s voice, letting out an even heartier “MAMA, MAMA!”

Arnold sticks out his bottom lip in a little pout. “Hey, how do you rate such an enthusiastic response from him when all I ever get is a single Dada?”

Helga sits next to Arnold, smiling at Phillip as he reaches out for her. She takes him from her husband, rubbing the boy’s nose with hers as she answers Arnold. “That’s because he loves his mommy, isn’t that right Phillip? Do you love your mommy?”

Phillip clasps her cheeks in his drool ridden hands, giving her a loud, “MAMA” in reply.

“Hmmf.” Arnold says as he crosses his arms in front of his chest. “You shouldn’t play favorites Philly Boy, it’s not nice.”

“Oh relax, Arnoldo. You know what they say, ‘Mama’s boy and Daddy’s girl’. You’ll get your turn when we have a girl.”

“So you say, but what if we end up with all boys?”

“If we don’t have a girl by our third kid, I’m having my tubes tied and we’ll teach Agnes to say Dada, how does that sound?”

“Nope, no good.”

“And why not?”

“Because, I want way more than just three kids.” He waves his arms gesturing to the space that surrounds them. “I mean, look at this place, it’s huge, and I want to fill every room with kids. Especially if they’re as cute as Phillip.”

By now Phillip has grown tired of his mother’s lap and squirms his way to the floor. Pulling himself up on the coffee table, he uses it for balance as he opens his mother’s notebook, pulling her carefully filed notes out and spreading them around him.

Helga leans forward, carefully moving Phillip away from her notes and placing them back in the notebook. “I don’t know about that, Arnoldo, especially if the next kid or two are as much of a handful as Phillip is. What’s gotten into you, anyway? You’re not wanting another kid yet, are you?”

“Well, I don’t want to wait too long before having another, but, no, I don’t want one just yet.”

“So then what is it?”

He leans back into the plush couch, giving his shoulders a shrug. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve just been thinking about things after last week’s accident. About how precious family is and it just made me sad that I grew up an only child and I don’t want that for Phillip. I want him to have the brothers and the sisters that I never got the chance to have.”

“I guess I can see that, but just because you have a brother or a sister doesn’t mean you’re always going to get along. I mean, look at me and Olga. We were adults before we really started getting along.”

Arnold gives her an accusing look. “And just whose fault was that?”

“Hey, it wasn’t all my fault. You don’t know the type of show-off she was when we were growing up. It’s taken me many years to finally feel like I’m not being overshadowed by her.”

“I never saw you as overshadowed. To me you always shined in your own way. You just never gave yourself any credit.

Their conversation is interrupted by a loud crash. Turning their attention back to their child, they see that their son has climbed halfway up the bookshelf at the far side of the room, and sits on one of the shelves, laughing joyously as he drops the books to the floor one by one.

Helga gets up, retrieving their son and placing him back onto his father’s lap. “Heh, and YOU want a houseful!” she says as she leaves the room, leaving father and son alone once more.

Arnold looks at Phillip, the boy’s green eyes sparkle with mischief. He leans in and whispers into his son’s ear. “Don’t worry, Phillip, we’ll get you those brothers and sisters.” His words are followed by a loud “I heard that!” bellowing from the hallway.

xxxxx

It’s been a lazy morning, and is looking to be an even lazier afternoon what with Phillip finally snoozing quietly upstairs. While he naps, Helga contentedly hums to herself as she cleans up the lunch dishes while Arnold sits stretched out in his favorite recliner. The file that holds the notes for his upcoming summer career class sits open on his lap and he stares down at them, wishing he had never agreed to take the job. He knew that any attempts to get out of it would have been fruitless though because once Dunn set his mind to something it was very rare for him to settle for no as an answer. 

He picks up the list of guest speakers that have already agreed to give a short half hour talk, and furrowed his brow over the last, vacant spot. He already has Sid coming in to talk about the field of photography, Harold talking and how he is fulfilling his life-long dream to work with meat, heck, he even talked Carlos into giving a short talk on what it take to be a book editor plus a few other people from the community. 

He takes a break from his papers when he hears Helga’s voice drift into the family room. With her being the only hold out, it’s her fault that he still has one more spot to fill. He’s approached her a few times, trying to convince her to do it, but was always met with the same response. He can still hear her voice from the last time he asked her.

“No, Arnold, there’s no way you’ll get me to stand up in front of a bunch of kids whose parents are forcing them to be there, and talk about a subject that they have absolutely no interest in.”

He begins to wonder if he should just give up when an idea pops into his head. A sly smile starts to play across his face as he gives a half lidded gaze towards the kitchen. He knows that what he’s scheming is underhanded, but he figures what’s good for the goose is also good for the gander, so, placing his notes back into their folder, he gets up and follows the sound of Helga’s voice.

He stands in the doorway to the kitchen and watches his wife as she stands at the sink, washing the lunch dishes. The sink is filled with warm, soapy water, the suds reaching half way up her arms. With her back turned towards him, he goes into stealth mode as he quietly walks up behind her. She gives a small jump when he wraps his arms around her waist.

“Criminy, Arnoldo, you just about gave me a heart attack. You need to announce yourself better when you enter a room.”

He steps closer to her, his chest pressed warmly to her back. “Perhaps I wanted to surprise you.” He says as he buries his face in the crook of her neck.

She gives a soft giggle as he nuzzles her and lifts a hand up to flick some soapy water at him. “Stop that, you’re giving me chills.” She says, not really wanting him to stop.

She can feel his breath on her neck as he gives a little chuckle. “Well, maybe that’s my intention. To give you a little thrill.”

She gives him a scoff. “Heh, who says I’m thrilled?”

She can’t see him, but he gives her a raise of his eyebrows. “Oh yeah? Well perhaps this will do the trick.”

Pressing his groin into her backside, he gives it a little grind, causing her to give a sharp intake of air. Her voice is shaky when she speaks.

“Okay, now I might be just the slightest bit thrilled.”

He lets his hands roam up the front of her as he nibbles her earlobe. His breath is warm as it fills her ear. 

“Hey, Helga?” He softly whispers.

She gives a hard swallow before answering. “Y-yeah?”

“You’d say we have a pretty good relationship, right?”

His question throws her off guard for a moment. “I’d say we have a very good relationship.”

“And in good relationships there’s always a bit of give and take, right?” He says as he gives her breasts a gentle massage.

Dropping the sponge she was holding into the cooling water, she gives her head a nod. “Y-yes, it’s all about compromise. Why?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” He says as he turns her now to face him.

He looks down at her, giving her his patented half-lidded gaze while soapy water from her hands begin to pool by their feet. It’s the gaze that he knows from years of experience will have her buckling at the knees. She looks up into those eyes, a small swoon escaping her. Hearing this, he knows that he’s got her where he wants her, and he goes in for the kill. Grabbing her hips, he pushes her against the countertop as he grabs one of her legs, lifting it and leaving it to rest on his hip. He presses into her and she wraps her arms around his neck as he kisses under her chin. 

“Yes.” He breathes into her ear. “That’s right. In a good relationship there’s compromise. Just like me compromising and going to your convention, perhaps you can compromise too.”

Unlike her husband, she is not so easily tricked, and her eyes grow wide when she finally realizes just what he’s playing at. Removing her leg from his hip, she uses all her strength to push him away from her.

“Arnold Phillip Shortman!” She yells as she shoves a finger into his face. “How dare you!”

Tilting his head backwards to avoid his eyes being stabbed by her finger, he realizes that the jig is up and gives her a smirk. “What?” He says, which just adds fuel to her fire.

“Don’t you ‘What’ me! How dare you try to take advantage of me like that?”

“Take advantage of you? You mean like YOU took advantage of ME in order to get me to say yes to Seattlecon?”

He knows he’s got her, and he crosses his arms in front of his chest as he waits for her answer.

Giving him a little huff, she goes back to finishing the dishes. “Hmmf, that was different.”

“Oh? How so?”

With no real explanation, she rinses the last dish before pulling the plug, letting the water begin to gurgle down the drain. “It just is. All I’m asking you to do is accompany your wife to a fun outing. You, on the other hand, are asking me to make a fool of myself as I stand in front of thirty teenagers and tell them that they, too, can be a writer if they just put their mind to it. No one wants to hear something like that coming from a no body like me.”

Arnold looks at her as if she’s crazy. “What do you mean, a no body? Helga, you are definitely a somebody.” 

Drying her hands, she drops the wet dishtowel on the counter and pushes past him. “No, I’m just a small time writer who wrote a small time book that’s doing just okay with the local clientele.”

He follows after her, not letting her get away. “That’s not true and you know it. Your book is becoming more and more popular every day. Heck, people you don’t even know have begun to stop you on the street, letting you know how much their kids love your book. Face it, Helga, you are definitely becoming a somebody, and you should take your somebodyness and share it with those kids.”

She stops short, causing him to run into her as she turns to give him a raise of her eyebrow. “Somebodyness? What kind of a word is that?”

“I don’t know, I’m not the English major, you are.” Giving her a pleading look, he tries one more time to convince her to do his class. “Come on, Helga. Do this for me. I need you.”

Never, ever being able to refuse him when he really needed her, she finally relents and throws her hands into the air. “Criminy, okay, if it means that much to you, I’ll do it. But don’t you ever say I never do you any favors. Got it?”

He throws his arms around her, lifting her as he spins. “Thank you, Helga! You’ll do just fine, you’ll see.” 

Placing her back down, he gives her a deep, lingering kiss. Taking a step back, she looks at him and takes him by the hand. 

“Where are we going?” He asks her as she leads him down the hallway towards the stairs.

 

She gives him a wink. “Well, I just thought you might like another chance to ‘thrill’ me, since your last attempt fell short.” 

Letting go of her hand, he sweeps her up into his arms and gives her a devilish smile as he carries her up the stairs.

“Well, in that case, Mrs. Shortman, you’d better hold on and prepare yourself for the thrill of a lifetime.”


	117. Chapter 117

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we get started here I’d like to take care of some business. First, I want, no, I need to give a HUGE thank you to Metalheadrailfan for the adorable picture of Little Phil that he drew for me. His little face, with his little tooth sticking out of his gummy smile is so cute! You can see this picture, along with all his other work on his Deviantart account. I encourage you to check out his stuff and leave a thumbs up or two, it’s really cute stuff! Next I feel that, since we’re getting ready for Arnold’s first ever convention, its time for me to make some disclaimers. So, from here on out, know that I claim absolutely no rights to any cartoon, TV show, super hero, or any other character or person that’s not one of my own making. There will probably be a bunch of references coming up and I really don’t want to have to make this disclaimer at the beginning of each chapter! So, with all that said, lets’ get on with the show…..

Much to his delight, the past two weeks have gone by much faster than Charles had expected them to, which is the reason for his smile as he sits across from Tonya as they, once again, partake in their morning ritual of cheese Danishes and morning buns. He rips off a large piece of his confection, shoving the sugary goodness into his mouth before speaking. 

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I can’t tell you how good it feels to be back at school again.”

Tonya gives him a look of slight disgust as she hands him a napkin. “Geeze, Charles, didn’t your mother ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full? Here, you’ve got pastry on your chin.”

Taking the napkin from her, he gives his chin a quick wipe. “Sorry about that. I’m just so excited to finally be out of the house!”

She gives him a little wink. “Yeah, I get that, but next time could you swallow first?”

“Sure thing, boss.” He says before shoving another piece of his breakfast into his mouth.

When Tonya arrived at school the first Tuesday after the accident, she was stopped all day by her peers as they told her how sorry they were to hear about what had happened, and to enquire as to how Charles was holding up. Today, however, it was Charles’ turn to be the center of attention, and he gives a little sneer when he sees a couple of former members of Blake’s posse come strolling up to their table. He purposely ignores them until Justin finally speaks up.

“So, you’re back at school already, huh, Charles?”

His reply is thick with sarcasm. “Well, it would look like it, don’t ya think?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess so. Anyway, it sucks, what happened to you and Tonya last week because of Blake. The guy was a real jerk for doing what he did.”

Not believing what he’s about to say, Charles surprises himself when he actually stands up for the missing boy. “Well, I’m sure he wouldn’t have gone to such extreme measures if a certain, supposed best friend, hadn’t stabbed him in the back and stolen his girlfriend.” After a short pause, he adds, “I’m just saying….”

Justin takes offense at the remark and glares down at Charles. “Hey, she was the one who initiated it, SHE came to ME, and started things.”

“Maybe so, but you didn’t have to be so quick to respond. Blake was your best friend after all.”

Justin thinks about that for a moment, becoming a little embarrassed at being called out. “What’s it to you, anyway? I thought you hated the guy?”

Having enough of the conversation, Charles shrugs his shoulders. “You know what, you’re right. I don’t even like the guy, so what do I care? As I’ve said multiple times already, I’m just glad no one was seriously hurt. Now, is there anything else you need?”

“No, I’m done here.” He turns to his buddies and motions them to follow him. “Come on guys, let’s get outta here.”

Like the obedient puppy dogs they are, the boys follow their new leader out of the cafeteria, leaving Tonya to stare at her boyfriend.

Charles notices her stare and raises his eyebrows at her. “What?”

“Nothing, it just surprised me to hear you actually stand up for Blake is all. I never would have expected you to defend the guy.”

“I wasn’t defending him, I was just pointing out the obvious. I mean, isn’t it true that if Justin hadn’t started messing around with Suzie none of this would have happened?”

“Yeah, I guess so, but still. I’m thinking that you’re perhaps starting to soften up to the guy.”

Charles denies her accusation. “No, I’m not starting to soften up to Blake. The guy’s a jerk and he’ll always be a jerk.” Crushing the paper cup that once held his hot chocolate, he stands, gathering up his trash. “Anyway, the bell’s about to ring, we should be getting ready for class.”

Tonya sits and watches him as he stomps away, her face growing into a knowing smirk. She thinks to herself, “deny it all you want, Charles, but you are definitely starting to warm up to the guy.”

Grabbing her own trash, she drops it into the trashcan as she rushes to catch up to her boyfriend.

xxxxx

With another week behind them, Helga sits on the top step that leads down to their back yard. She watches as a dozen pigs root around the yard looking for any tasty morsels that might be hidden in the tall grass. They are getting bigger with each day that passes, and she knows, that no matter how much Arnold would love to keep them all, there’s no way they can handle that many pigs. Especially once they become full grown. She looks behind her when she hears the back door open, and smiles when she sees father and son step out to join her on the step. 

Phillip leans towards Helga, letting out a happy “Mama!” as she reaches for him. Holding her child on her knee, she goes back to quietly surveying the yard. Arnold takes note of the expression that sits on her face and wonders what’s running through her mind.

Nudging her with his shoulder, he attempts to find out what’s troubling her. “Penny for your thoughts.”

She lets out a small breath as she continues with her forward gaze. “Oh, I was just thinking about our little pink friends over there. You know, Arnold, there’s no way we can realistically keep them all.”

He lets out a little sigh of his own. “Yeah, I know, but what can we do? I won’t just hand them over to some stranger with no way to ever know what’s happening to them.”

“Well, I doubt very highly that any of our friends would be willing to take them off our hands. We may be able to pawn off one or two of them, but all eleven? That ain’t happening any time soon.”

“I know, but lets’ not do anything yet, give me more time to figure something out.”

She gives him a slap on his back as she stands up. “Fair enough. Now, we’d better get going if we’re going to make it out to Stinky and Lila’s before noon. I wonder what it is they’re so eager to talk to us about anyway. You don’t think she’s………….”

Arnold takes Phillip’s diaper bag from her so she can strap Phillip into his seat in the back of the Packard. “I don’t think she’s what?”

Finished strapping their son into his seat, Helga shimmies backwards out of the car and gives him a look. “You know, pregnant. You don’t think that’s what they want to tell us, do you?”

Arnold thinks about this for a moment as they get into the car. Starting the engine, he ponders Helga’s question. “Hmm, I don’t know. It’s possible, but I don’t see them asking us to drive all the way out there just to say they’re expecting.”

“Yeah, I guess you could be right. This is going to bug me the whole way up there.”

“Well, we’ll find out soon enough. For now, though, lets’ just enjoy a nice ride through the countryside.”

Agreeing with her husband, the two make idle chit chat as Phillip babbles happily in the back seat, every once in a while letting out a happy “Dada!” As he swings around a small stuffed toy that’s fastened securely to the arm rest of his car seat.

xxxxx

They pull up to the small parking lot that sits just outside the gift shop of Peterson Farms, and sit for a moment, taking in their surroundings. The last time they were at the small farm it was Christmas and the ground was covered in a thick layer of snow. Now, with spring in full bloom, they marvel at the colorful array of mountain wildflowers that adorn the property. As they get out of the car, Helga takes in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“Oh, just smell that fresh air, will ya. And I don’t know when I’ve seen such a blue sky. I tell you, Arnold, if I wasn’t such a city girl I’d move up here in a heartbeat.”

“Who knows,” He says as he hands Phillip to her so he can grab the other stuff they’ve brought, “maybe someday we’ll be fortunate enough to afford a nice cottage or something up here. A place to get away to for vacations and stuff.”

“You really think we’d ever be able to afford something like that?”

“Sure we will, once your book hits number one on the Best Seller’s list the world will be our oyster.”

“Yep, that’s you, Arnoldo, always the daydreamer.”

Their little chat is interrupted when Lila and Stinky come out of the gift shop to welcome them. After a quick round of hugs and some oo’s and ahh’s over how big Phillip has gotten, the four friends make their way to the main house.

Once inside Helga notices that the Christmas décor of a few months ago has been replaced with flowers fresh from the garden. “Lila, these flowers are just exquisite.” Helga says as she leans in to take a whiff of a particularly fragrant Hyacinth. 

“Oh, thank you ever so much, Helga. Stinky and I spent the better part of late September planting bulbs all over the property so they’d be sure to be ready for spring. I’m oh so glad you like them.”

“We sure did.” Stinky said in his distinct drawl. “And I still have the sore knees to prove it.”

After a few more minutes of catching up, the hosts lead their guests out to the backyard, where a blanket has been spread out under a shade tree for a nice picnic style lunch. Helga carries Phillip on her hip while Arnold carries the potato salad she made as their contribution to the lunch.

Phillip sits happily between his parents, gorging himself on chunks of potato salad, and small pieces of fried chicken. Stopping every so often to give the adults a food filled smile. 

Letting out a small chuckle, Stinky comments on Little Phil’s appetite. “He sure does have his mother’s appetite, doesn’t he?”

Arnold busts out a laugh while Helga gives a stunned “Hey, watch it Stink-o!”

With a nudge from Lila, Stinky tries to quickly take back what he said. “Why, I didn’t mean nothing by it, Miss Helga. I was just making an observation is all.”

Shaking her head at their friend, she gives a little giggle. “Oh, it’s okay, Stink. I guess he does kind of take after me in that respect.”

After a pause in the conversation, Arnold asks about any future plans the couple may have with the farm. 

“Well, now that you mention it,” Stinky says, “we have been considering adding another animal or two to the place. We just can’t figure on which ones to add.”

They sit for a moment pondering the topic when a light goes off in Helga’s head. “Hey, how about pigs?”

“Pigs?” Stinky asks while giving his head a scratch. 

“Well, we never thought of pigs.” Lila says, “What on earth would we do with pigs?”

They sit for another moment before its Arnold’s turn to answer. “I know, you can train them for pig racing!”

“Pig racing? Now I may be a simple country boy, Arnold, but I’ve never heard of pig racing before.”

“Of course!” Helga says with a snap of her fingers. “Sure you have, Stinky. It would be just like those races they hold at the state fair. You know, the one where they give each pig a different colored vest and let them run around a little track to bowls of ice cream that awaits them at the finish line. It’s the perfect thing.”

“It is?” Asks Stinky, still a bit confused.

“Sure it is!” Arnold says. “You could hold races here in the spring and summer as an attraction, and when the cheese festival comes around you can set up a booth there and hold races while you sell your homemade goat cheeses.”

Lila breaks out with a smile as she considers their suggestions. “You know, that just might be oh so fun, Stinky. What do you think?”

“Well, Miss Lila dear, if you like it then I reckon I like it too. But where are we going to get a hold of a bunch of pigs?”

Arnold and Helga share a victorious look. “You can have our pigs.” Helga says.

“Why you’d just give us your pigs, just like that?” Stinky asks.

“Sure we would.” Arnold agrees. “Well, all but Agnes that is. She was a special gift to Phillip from his great-grandma.”

With everyone in agreement, the topic of conversation turns to the real reason for the Shortman’s invitation to lunch.

“Now that that’s settled, Stinky and I have some oh so wonderful news we’d like to share with the two of you.”

“I knew it!” Helga yells. “I KNEW you didn’t invite us up here to discuss farm animals. So, when are you due?”

Both Stinky and Lila give Helga a confused look. “Due?” Lila asks, “Whatever are you talking about, Helga?”

“You know, due. When’s the baby due?”

“Why Miss Lila and I aren’t expecting no little one.”

It’s Helga’s turn to be confused now. “You’re not? Then what else could you have to tell us that you had to do it in person?”

Stinky takes a hold of Lila’s hand as their faces beam with happiness. “Well, Miss Lila here has done agreed to finally be my wife. We’re gonna be getting hitched this summer.”

Their guests look at them with wide eyes before Helga finally lets out with a loud “That’s awesome!”

“Yes,” Arnold agrees, “congratulation’s you guys, we’re very happy for you both.”

“Well, that’s just part of the news.” Lila says through a small blush. “Why we wanted to tell you in person is because, well, oh Helga, it would make me just oh so happy if you’d agree to be my matron of honor.”

“That’s right.” Stinky adds, “and Arnold, I would really appreciate it if you’d agree to being one of my ushers. I’ve already asked Sid to be my best man, and Harold is gonna be an usher too.”

“Of course!” the two friends shout in unison.

Pulling Lila into a hug, Helga gladly accepts her request. “I’d be honored to be your matron of honor, Lila.” 

“Oh, that just makes me oh so happy, Helga. And, of course, we’d like nothing better than for Phillip to be the ring bearer. We figured that if he’s still not walking yet then he could be pulled in a little wagon or something.”

“I’d love that!” Helga says, already imagining how cute Little Phil will look in a tiny tuxedo.

xxxxx

Later that night, after putting a very full, very tired Phillip to sleep, Helga sits up in bed next to Arnold. He lays on his side facing her, with his head in her lap as she absentmindedly runs her fingers through his hair. 

“Well, I have to hand it to you, Arnoldo. That was pretty quick thinking on your part.”

Her fingers running through his hair has put him into an almost hypnotic trance and he lets out a lazy “Hmmm, what was?”

“The way you sold Lila and Stinky on the pig races. That was a brilliant idea.”

He snuggles his face deeper into her lap. “Mmm, I guess so. I’m just glad they liked it. It makes me happy to know that our pigs will have a good home and be taken care of.”

“Yeah, with the way those two love animals, they’ll take real good care of them.”

“So are you excited to be Lila’s matron of honor?”

Helga gives it a quick thought. “Yeah, I am. It will be good practice for when Phoebe and Gerald finally tie the knot too.”

Arnold gives a little chuckle. “Heh, I didn’t even think about that.”

“It looks like we’re in for a pretty full summer, what with the convention, and your class and now a wedding too.”

Arnold nods his head in agreement. “Yep, and then after that it will be Phillip’s first birthday. Man, time is moving way too fast.”

The words no sooner leave Arnold’s mouth when Helga reaches out to slap him on his head. Sitting up he rubs where she hit him, giving her a surprised look. “Hey, what did you do that for?”

“What do you mean, what did I do that for? You know very well you are not to make any comments about how fast Phillip is growing up. I mean, look at him, he’s already starting to talk!”

“He’s not talking, he’s babbling. There’s a difference.”

“That’s not true, he’s talking, and he certainly knows what he’s saying. Why else would he look directly at me and say Mama? Hmmm?”

“Okay, so he may be able to put together a sound or two and place it with a person, that’s hardly talking.”

“But it’s a start, and before you know it he’ll be saying short sentences, and adding on his fingers, and taking the bus to high school, and – and do you know what he said to me yesterday while you were at work?”

He lays back down, clasping his fingers behind his head as he looks up at her. “I really have no clue. What did he say?”

“He told me NO if you can believe that.”

Arnold gives a little chuckle. “Phillip said no to you? Oh boy, and so it starts and he’s not even one yet.”

“Right!! I looked it up, and sure enough, no just happens to be one of the first things they learn to say.”

“So what did you do to get him to tell you no?”

“Heh, I told him it was nap time and to come to me so we could go upstairs and the little runt looked me straight in the eye and said ‘No’ plain as day, followed by some incoherent babbling. Then he turned around and started crawling away from me as fast as he could.”

Now Arnold lay holding his stomach as he straight out laughs. “Oh boy, he said no to you then actually told you off? I would have LOVED to have been here to see that!”

“Laugh if you will, but you just wait. Sooner or later you’ll be the one dealing with his attitude, and then it won’t be so funny.”

He sits up, placing a small kiss on her cheek. “I’m sorry for laughing, that really wasn’t a very nice thing for him to do. I hope you didn’t punish him too much.”

“Oh I punished him alright, I marched right after him and scooped him up and put him to bed without reading his favorite book to him. He screamed for a bit, but I held fast and he finally wore himself out and went to sleep.”

“I hate to say it, Helga, but it looks like he’s got a bit of your feistiness running through his veins.”

“Well if he thinks he can get away with anything where I’m concerned then he’s got another thing coming to him. And stop snickering like that!”

“Okay, I’m sorry.” He brushes her hair off her shoulder before giving it a small nibble. “Perhaps I can think of something to put you in a better mood.”

She tilts her head to one side as he works his way up from her shoulder to her neck, a shiver starts to shoot up her spine. “Well, that’s a good start. What else you got?”

He grabs her at the waist, pulling her down onto her back. He hovers over her as he looks her straight in the eye. “Oh, I’ve got plenty of tricks up my sleeve, I mean, remember who you’re talking to. I am Arnoldo the Great after all.”

She giggles as she remembers their conversation back before Phillip was born when Arnold surprised her with a spontaneous trip to the beach. “Oh, yes, I remember you. Tell me, do you still carry around your magic wand?”

“I don’t know,” he says as he parts her legs with his knee and presses himself against her. “You tell me.”

With a slight shudder she looks at him through half closed eyes. “Ah, yes, there it is.”

He gives her a devilish smile. “Well, like I said before, I never leave home without it. Now tell me what I can do to bring a smile to that pretty little face of yours……….”


	118. Chapter 118

Blake sits on the bus as it makes its way towards the high school. He’s not happy about the loss of his driver’s license and scowls out the dirty window to the busy street. His eyes grow wide when he spies Justin’s car and pushes his body against the back of his seat, ducking out of view. He’s self-conscious enough about having to take the bus, and the last thing he needs is to have his friends witness his misery. 

“Heh, friends.” He thinks to himself. Some friend Justin turned out to be. Seeing things from only his own, one-sided perspective, he stews over the fact that friends don’t stab other friends in the back like Justin did to him. He heaves a sigh as he comes to terms with the fact that there’s nothing he can do about it now, and is glad that there is only one week left until the end of school.

He is fortunate that he’s come out of this whole ordeal virtually unscathed as far as school goes. He was able to keep up with most of his studies with his grades being just a hair below what he needs in order to move on to his junior year. During a meeting between his parents and Principal Dunn, it was decided that if he were to take Arnold’s career class over the summer it would give him the missing credits needed to move up. He’s not happy that he has to waste the first few weeks of his summer going to school, but he figures it’s better than being held back a grade.

As the bus pulls up to his stop, he grabs his backpack and slings it over his shoulder as he stands. His exit is quick and he walks with his head down, hoping to avoid attention. He makes it into the building unseen and is about to let his guard down when he hears a familiar voice calling out his name. Trying his best to act cool, he slowly turns around to face his betrayer. 

“Well, well, look whose back.” Justin says with a smirk. 

Blake gives him a bit of a scowl. “What do you want?” 

Justin feigns innocence as he holds his hands up in front of him. “Now hold on there, Blake old boy, I’m here as a friend. I thought we could bury the hatchet, you know, let bygones be bygones and all that.”

Blake wonders what game Justin is playing at and eyes him suspiciously. He glances at the two boys that flank either side of him, their expressions mimicking that of their friend’s. “Is that so? And just what brought on this sudden desire to be friends again?”

Justin gives a shrug of his shoulders. “Oh, nothing really. I was just thinking how silly it is to let years of friendship go to waste over some chick that never really meant anything to either of us.”

A light finally goes off in Blake’s head. “So, I take it Suzie dumped you, huh?”

The two boys that are standing with Justin give a chuckle. 

“You could say that again.” Cameron says before catching Justin’s eye. The look on the boy’s face causes him to immediately stop talking. 

“Ha! So it’s true. So, did the little tramp cheat on you, too?”

“No, I just grew tired of her, that’s all.” Justin says, trying to hold on to at least a small shred of his dignity. “Anyway, like I said, there’s no reason to let what’s happened in the past change things between us. We make a good team, you and me, and there’s no reason we can’t still rule this school together.”

“Riiight. Well, I don’t know, Justin. I’ve had a lot of time to think while I was stuck at home recuperating and, well, my priorities have changed.”

“Oh, yeah? How so?”

“I don’t know, after the accident I just see things differently now. Stuff that used to be important to me just doesn’t have the same kind of pull.”

Justin gives Blake a raise of his eyebrow. “You softening on us, Hadley?”

“No, I’m not softening, I’m just growing up. You don’t almost take someone’s life and not have it affect you, you know. Anyway, I don’t mind us being friends again, but just don’t expect things to be the same as they were. I’ve got too much at stake to lose it all by being a screw up.”

Justin is caught off guard by Blake’s answer and brings up a hand to awkwardly rub the back of his neck. “I, uh, didn’t think about it like that. So, we, uh, still friends then?”

Done with the conversation, and eager to be anywhere but there right now, Blake gives him a nod of his head as he pushes past him. “Yeah, whatever, I gotta go. I’ll catch you later.”

“Yeah, later.” Justin replies as he watches the boy storm away.

xxxxx

The day went by painfully slow for Blake. With this being the last week of the school year, almost all of the required assignments have been completed and grades turned in. Because of this, there really wasn’t too much left to do, leaving most of his teachers to hand out what he considered “busy work”, just to fill the time. In his English class the students were asked to complete a two page essay titled “What I Plan On Doing Over Summer Break”, which will then be read by each student at the end of the week. In history the teacher, a devout Bill Murray fan, settled on showing an old video of the movie “Stripes”, touting it as the greatest war comedy ever made. 

And so went the day, one mindless assignment after another, making him wonder why he even bothered showing up. By the time the last bell rang, he was eager to hightail it home and get ready to start his many hours of community service that the judge had ordered of him. He would be working three hours a day, five days a week, at Hillwood General Hospital as a runner, doing basically whatever small jobs the day shift nurses could find for him to do. He has already put in his first week, a week filled with filing charts, making coffee runs, mopping up spills and other trivial tasks. It was mind numbing work, but still better than wasting away in juvie. 

He’s rushing through the school’s parking lot when Tonya begins running after him, calling his name.

“Blake, hey, Blake, slow down!”

Finally realizing that someone is talking to him, he stops and turns around.

“Tonya?”

Catching up, she stands out of breath as she talks. “Hey, Blake. Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

Not really having time for conversation, Blake tries to make it short. “I gotta run, Tonya. I’ve got my community service that I’ve got to get to. Perhaps we can talk later?”

“Oh, hey, if you’re in a hurry, perhaps you can ride with Charles and me, we can drop you off on our way home.”

Not really wanting to be a third wheel he tries to come up with an excuse to say no. “Oh, uh, that’s okay, I’m going all the way to Hillwood General, that’s not really on your way home.”

Tonya grabs him by his arm, pulling him with her. “It’s no bother, come on. I’m sure Charles won’t mind.”

“Surrre.” Blake thinks as he allows himself to be dragged behind Tonya. As they approach the car he notices that Charles has not had the time to get it fixed yet, and feels horrible at the thought that he is the reason the side and back is so beat up. He also notices the look on Charles’ face when he sees him being dragged along by Tonya. Once they reach the car Blake gives Charles an embarrassed wave.

“Uh, hi, uh, Charles. How ya doing?”

Charles looks at Tonya before turning back to Blake. “Uh, hey, Blake. Umm, yeah, things are good. How was your first day back?”

“Oh, well, it could have been worse, I guess. At least I don’t think I was the topic of too many conversations.”

Tonya gives Charles a nudge and a smile. “Blake has to get to his community service job at the hospital. I told him we’d be glad to take him on our way home. You don’t mind, do you, Charles?”

Charles is about to give a snide remark when he sees the warning look in Tonya’s eyes. Defeated, he agrees. “Uh, yeah. No problem at all. Climb in, Blake. Uh, just go around to the driver’s side, that door doesn’t open very easily.”

Taking note of the accusing glare Charles is giving him, Blake quickly heads to the other side of the car. “Uh, yeah, no problem.”

They sit in the car, Charles behind the wheel, with a bubbling Tonya next to him, while Blake sits humbled in the back seat. Once they leave the parking lot, Blake speaks up, breaking the awkward silence between him and Charles.

“Um, hey. I, uh, just want to say again how sorry I am about that night, you know.”

Charles eyes him in the rear view mirror while Tonya turns to face him. “We know, Blake. It’s not like you hunted us down and came aiming for us. It was an accident. A stupid and needless one, but an accident none the less. I just really hope you learned something from it.”

Blake looks from Tonya to Charles. “Yeah, well, I don’t think everyone’s as willing to forgive as you are.”

Charles gives a little huff at Blake’s statement, causing Tonya to give him what’s fast becoming one of her patented elbow in the ribs response. “Like Charles and I’ve said, Blake, it will take time to completely forgive you, but we can at least be civil with each other.”

Figuring that Tonya is right, Blake spends the rest of the ride sitting quietly. When they reach the hospital he gets out of the car thanking the couple once again. He watches the car as it drives away, thinking about just how lucky a guy Charles is to have a girlfriend like Tonya, and mentally kicks himself for ever letting her get away.

xxxxx

Helga sits on the floor by the bathroom tub, gently scrubbing her son’s back as he plays in the soapy water. He takes a little red cup, babbling to himself as he fills it with water. Picking up the smaller blue cup, he pours the water into it, giggling as it overflows back into the tub. He takes both toys now, dunking them in and out of the water, causing it to splash up into his mother’s face. 

“Criminy, Phillip!” She says as she wipes the warm water out of her eyes. 

Grabbing a small bit of baby shampoo, she lathers up the boy’s head, twirling his hair so it stands up in a soapy, spiked Mohawk. Unable to stand the cuteness, she grabs her phone, snapping a picture of the boy as he smiles up at her, and quickly sends it off to Arnold. 

She allows the boy to play a little longer before bracing herself for the task of rinsing the shampoo out of his hair. Although Phillip doesn’t mind having his hair scrubbed, he does, however, greatly mind having it rinsed out. He hates being leaned backwards into the water to have it rinsed, but he also equally hates having the water trail down into his eyes if she leaves him sitting upright. Figuring it better to lean him back then risk soap in his eyes, she gently takes ahold of him and begins to lean him back. 

The minute he realizes what’s going on, he lets out with an ear shattering scream, kicking his feet and flailing his arms all the while. He lets out with angry shouts of “NO! NO! NO! MAMA NO!” The whole time she does her best to soothe him.

“It’s okay, Phillip, this won’t take too long, mommy will be quick. CRIMINY! Will you stop splashing!”

“NO!”

“Just one more second and I’ll be done.”

“NO!”

“You’re making this harder than it needs to be, will you just sit still!”

“NO! MAMA NO!”

Finally, after much frustration, Helga sits her child back into an upright position and smiles down at him. “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Phillip glares back up at her with a scowl. “MAMA NO!”

“Hmmf, be that way!” Helga says as she reaches for his bath towel. 

Letting the water drain from the tub, she wraps the boy up in a light blue Thomas the Tank Engine towel. There’s a little pocket at one end with the face of Thomas on it, and she drapes it over his head. Scooping him up, she walks her dripping child to the nursery, laying him on his changing table. Making sure he’s good and dry, she begins to sing as she rubs the boy down with lotion, the happy song bringing a smile to his face once again.

“They’re two, they’re four, they’re six ,they’re eight,  
Shunting trucks and hauling freight,  
Red and green and brown and blue,  
They’re the really useful crew….”

With the great hair rinsing tragedy behind them, she grabs his favorite light blue nightie. It has a picture of Thomas on the front, and, after zipping him snugly into it, she quickly runs a soft bristled brush through his cornflower hair. 

He sits on the changing table, looking at her through emerald green eyes and she marvels at just how much he looks like his father. The love that she feels for her two men cause her to let out a little sigh as she picks her child up, shooting rapid fire kisses into his neck, causing him to squeal with delight. She holds him close, breathing in the fresh scents of baby shampoo and lotion while they head downstairs to the family room to wait for Arnold to get home. 

She places Phillip on the freshly vacuumed carpet and with head down, he immediately crawls to a small toy box. Pulling himself up, he leans over the top of the box. Reaching in, he begins to unceremoniously empty the box of toys, one by one. 

When he gets to the bottom he spies his favorite Thomas train and pulls it out with a happy giggle. Sitting back down, he slides the train back and forth on the carpet, causing it to whistle and chug as he does so. He pushes down on the train’s smokestack causing it to give out a loud “Bust my buffers!” in its distinct Thomas voice. 

Helga sits on the couch as he plays, pouring over her Arlo’s Adventures notes while every so often lifting an eye to check on her son. She smiles when she hears the back door open, signaling the arrival of her husband. 

Arnold follows the sounds of Phillip’s toy train, and stands in the doorway to the family room smiling at the scene that meets him. He walks over to his son, picking him up to give him a kiss. Phillip gives him a quick, “DADA”, before wanting to be put back down with his toys.

Walking over to where Helga sits, he joins her on the couch, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he kisses her hello. Their eyes lock for a brief moment before partaking in a second kiss, this one just a little deeper than the last.

“So,” he says as he leans his head to hers, “how was your day?”

“Oh, it was fine, until Phillip’s bath that is.”

Arnold gives a little chuckle, knowing where the conversation is leading. “Oh, Phillip put up a fight again over his hair?”

“You got it.”

“Heh, I can just picture it, it must have been great fun.”

“Oh, yeah. You haven’t lived until you’ve been bitch slapped by an almost nine month old.”

Arnold gives her a disapproving look. “Hel-ga, do you have to talk like that about our son?”

“Hey, what else would you call it? You didn’t see the way he was looking at me or how fierce he was babbling. Oh, he was cussing me out, I’d guarantee it.”

“Well, either way, just go a little easier with the language. Anyway, was that lasagna I smelled when I walked through the kitchen?”

“Yep, it’s Olga’s recipe which I think I’ve followed correctly, so it should be good.”

“Good, cause I’m starving!”

Giving her one last kiss, he heads upstairs to the bathroom. He looks at the mass destruction that was left from Phillip’s bath and lets out laugh. His smile fades though when he sees what Helga has left out on the bathroom counter. Picking up the box he sees the picture of a man dying his hair a deep brown. 

“Oh no, not even!” He thinks to himself. Taking the box with him, he makes his way back downstairs to the family room. Standing in front of his wife now, he holds the box up for her to see. Gritting his teeth, his voice is low as he speaks.

“Helga, we need to talk.”


	119. Chapter 119

She diverts her eyes from her son and looks at the box that Arnold is holding. She knew he would try at least one last time to get out of dying his hair, and was ready for this conversation. So, giving just the smallest of sighs, she stands up and retrieves her son off the floor. With a toy in each hand, he smiles as they pass his daddy, giving him a happy “Da!”

Arnold follows Helga, holding the box of hair dye out in front of him, pointing to it with his free hand.

“Do you mind telling me just what this is?”

She places Phillip in his highchair, and after strapping him in, snaps the tray into place.

“Why, its hair dye, Arnoldo. What about it?”

“What do you mean ‘what about it’? Just what do you plan on doing with it?”

Walking to the stove, she puts on a pair of hand mitts before pulling the lasagna out of the oven.

“Well, I plan on dying your hair. The convention is this Saturday, you know, and you did promise to let me dye your hair.”

“No, that’s not right. I thought we determined that you used unfair tactics and that I would not be coloring my hair.”

She grabs some plates from the cupboard and begins to dish out their dinner.

“Well you thought wrong. You have to dye your hair, remember? With your head you can’t fit into any normal sized wigs, and it’s much too expensive to special order one. So we have to dye it.”

“I don’t believe this. You spend God only knows how much on a tiny outfit for Phillip, but you can’t spring for a custom made wig for me? Heh, anyway, I say I can go as a blonde.”

“No, you can’t go as a blonde.”

“And why not?”

“Because Marco Diaz is not a blonde! Criminy, you’ve seen the show, you should know what color hair he has.”

She brings the food to the table and he follows her with arms raised above his head as he yells.

“What’s the big deal anyway? My costume doesn’t have to be exact.”

“Yes, it does.”

“Why?”

“Because this is cosplay. You are cosplaying Marco Diaz, and Marco Diaz has brown hair, not blonde.”

“You’re not coloring your hair.”

Helga begins to lose her temper now and is finding it hard to keep her voice even.

“That’s – because – Star – Butterfly – all – ready – has – blonde - hair! DOI!”

She places Philip’s food on his tray and takes her seat at the table.

“Besides, it’s only a wash, it’s not a permanent dye. Four or five shampooing’s and it will be washed away before your summer class even starts. Now, sit down and eat before your food gets cold.”

He takes a seat and gives her a skeptical look. 

“You’re sure about this, right?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Now eat.”

He gives an incoherent mumble as he picks up his fork, shoving a piece of hot lasagna into his mouth. With a volcanic blob of burning cheese now adhered to the roof of his mouth, the great hair debate is, once again, pushed aside.

xxxxx

With all the hustle and bustle of what Arnold thinks must have been the longest school year of his life, he steps out of his office and into the crowded hallway. The air is filled with excitement as the students clear out their lockers for the last time this year. Trash cans overflow with unfinished assignments, and food wrappers that have seen way too much time shoved in the back of some dark, dank locker. The floors are littered with papers that flit about the student’s feet as they rush to get on with their summer break. Every now and then some student stops Arnold to wish him a fun summer, leaving off with the promise to do even better next year. A graduating senior gains his attention, thanking him for his patience with them over the last few years, swearing that without his help they would never have graduated. It’s those comments that make Arnold proud of what he does and solidifies the fact that he’s definitely made the right decision career wise.

He quickly ducks into the teacher’s lounge, making his way to the coffee pot and pours himself one for the road. He makes small talk with the few other teachers that are there before leaving with a wave and a “see ya in September”. Back in the hallway once again, he spies Gerald a few feet ahead of him. He does a slow jog to catch up, patting his friend on the shoulder when he finally does.

“So, we finally made it to the end of the year.” Arnold says as he holds up his hand to offer his friend his fist.

Making a fist of his own, Gerald returns the gesture, engaging in their time honored fist bump. Something they are sure they will never outgrow.

Gerald responds to Arnold’s comment with a “Thank God! This was one school year for the history books. I am so glad it’s over.”

“Yeah, me too. It’s hard to believe just how much can happen over the course of just a few short months.”

“You can say that again. It’s a wonder we survived it. So, you ready for your little trip with Helga tomorrow?”

Arnold rolls his eyes before he replies. “Don’t remind me. A full weekend of, well, I don’t even know what. I’ve never been to one of these things so I have no idea what to expect. All I do know is that I’ve never seen Helga so excited over anything that wasn’t Phillip related.”

“Heh, I feel for ya, bro. You wouldn’t catch me dead at one of those things. No sir, not for all the blow jobs in the world.”

Arnold winces at Gerald’s little dig at how he got himself into this mess. “Ha, ha, very funny. I feel so supported.”

“Aw, I’m just kidding you, Arnold. You know I’ve got your back, and if you want me to come up with some excuse for you to stay in town, I’ll do it.”

Arnold gives his head a shake. “I doubt there’s anything anyone can come up with that would trick Helga into letting me stay. No, I’ll just suck it up and be the good husband that I am and play along.”

Reaching the parking lot, they split off, heading to their respective cars. Gerald gives Arnold one last wave. “You’re a bold man, Arnold. Anyway, try to have fun, and just be more careful of what you’re agreeing to next time. See ya when you get back.”

“Yeah, see ya, Gerald.”

Getting into his own car, Arnold starts the engine. He looks at himself in the rear view mirror and with a deep sigh says to the eyes that reflect back at him “Well, here goes nothing.”

xxxxx

Saturday morning comes much earlier than Arnold would have liked, and he gives a little moan as Helga shakes him from his slumber.

“Come on, Arnoldo, wake up. Time’s a wasting and we’ve got to get on the road or we’re going to miss the opening ceremonies.”

“So what? This is the first morning of my summer break. I want to sleep in.”

“You have all summer to sleep in. Besides, I told you last night what time we’d be getting up. Criminy, sometimes it’s like you don’t even listen to me! Now get up! You have ten minutes to get your butt downstairs if you want breakfast before we go.”

She storms out of the bedroom in a flash of pink rayon as her nightgown flows out behind her. With a grunt and a groan, he pushes himself out of bed and heads for the bathroom. Turning on the faucets, he cups his hands, filling them with warm water. He splashes his face and looks at his reflection in the mirror. At first he’s caught off guard at his reflection, and it takes a moment for him to remember the dye job he received the night before.

He thinks back to last night when he was sitting in the chair at the kitchen sink, with an old towel wrapped around his bare shoulders. His arms crossed defiantly in front of him as Helga worked the dark dye into his hair.

“You’re sure this is only temporary, right?”

“Yes, Arnoldo. I specifically went to the shelf with the temporary dyes.”

“And it will wash out before my class, right?”

“Yes, Arnoldo. I’ve used this dye before. Four or five washings and you’ll be good as new.”

“Four or five? I thought you said three or four last time.”

“No, I said four or five. Now criminy, will you shut up and let me finish.”

With a huff he sits sullen as she places a plastic cap on his head.

“What’s that for?” He asks.

“It’s so you don’t get dye all over the house. Now, you have to let that sit for a while so be careful.”

He’s pulled back to present time when he hears Helga’s voice at the bottom of the stairs.

“Last call for breakfast, Arnoldo, your eggs are getting cold!”

With a sigh, he takes one last look in the mirror before turning to join his wife downstairs.

“Keep your shorts on, I’m coming.”

Helga turns to look at him when he enters the kitchen. A large smile spreads across her face and she gets up from the table, throwing herself at him.

“Look at you and your brown hair.” She says as she ruffles up his hair. “You are going to be the cutest Marco out of all of them.”

“All of them? What does that mean?”

She sits back down and shoves a forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth. “Well, you don’t think you’re going to be the only one dressed up today, do you?”

“No, of course not, but how many people could there possibly be that would dress up as this particular character?”

“Oh, I don’t know. It’s a pretty popular show. There could be quite a few. We’ll find out for sure at the gathering.”

“The what?”

“The gathering. That’s where everyone of a particular fan base gets together into one big group.”

“Why?”

“Why not? It’s a time for people to share in their mutual likes. To talk about the show and have their pictures taken.”

“Pictures? No one said anything about pictures. I don’t want strangers taking pictures of me!”

“They won’t be taking pictures of YOU, Arnoldo, they’ll be taking pictures of Marco Diaz. Sheesh.”

Arnold gives his head a shake. “This is all too weird. People dressed up like cartoon characters while other people take their pictures. It’s just too – strange.”

“Oh, Arnoldo, it’s all in good clean fun. A way for people to express themselves and surround themselves in their interests. It will be fun, I promise. So please just try to relax and go with it.”

“Okay. I’m trusting you, Helga, so you’d better be right.”

“I am, you’ll see. Now come on. We really should be getting a move on. You get Phillip ready and I’ll clean up the kitchen. Deal?”

Arnold gives her a smile and a slow nod of his head. “Okay, deal.”

xxxxx

With the start of summer vacation finally upon them, traffic out of town was a bit slower than they had expected, causing them to arrive at their hotel much later than they had planned. Having missed the opening ceremonies, they had just enough time to check into their room before their meet up with Misty and her husband. Helga was thankful that she paid the extra money to have their badges mailed to them, thus relieving them of the long check-in line at the convention itself.

With the two friend’s hotel rooms being right next to each other, the original plan was to meet in the hallway on their way downstairs to the adjoining convention center. But since they were late, they had to settle for meeting the other couple in the convention hall itself. 

With it now just a little after noon time, they’ve decided to meet for lunch before taking in the sights. Arnold stands with his hands in the pockets of his red hoodie while he watches Phillip play in the porta crib they brought along with them. He looks up when he hears the bathroom door open. He studies the look on Helga’s face and it makes him smile to see just how happy she is, which makes him happy in return. He takes in her outfit and has to admit that she looks absolutely adorable and is surprised at the realization that he just may have fun this weekend after all.

Grabbing her wand and placing it in Phillip’s diaper bag, she picks up the mini Tom and straps him into his stroller. 

“Ready?” She eagerly asks.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

They step into the empty hallway and head for the elevators. After a short wait they are surprised to find the elevator empty and step inside. With a push of a button, the doors close and they slowly descend to the lobby. When the doors open they are not surprised to see a mixture of convention goers and regular hotel clientele. It’s not until they reach the doors that connect the hotel to the convention hall when Arnold’s thoughts of a normal weekend are totally blown away.


	120. We're Not in Kansas Anymore

Arnold imagines that this is how Alice must have felt the first time she stepped through the looking glass. He feels as if he’s in another world as he takes a look around him. He knew people would be dressed up as all kinds of characters, but in his mind he was expecting homemade costumes not unlike those one would throw together for an impromptu Halloween party. What he sees, instead are people that look as if they’ve just stepped out of the pages of their favorite comic book or TV show. 

His head moves in a continual side to side motion as he looks at each person that they pass. Every now and then he hears a “Look, its Star and Marco”, or someone will stop them as they coo into Phillip’s stroller, commenting on how he’s the cutest Tom they’ve ever seen. He doesn’t really know how to respond to these people, so he just gives them a quiet, “uh, thanks”, along with a shy smile. 

Helga, on the other hand, is in her element, the smile on her face finally convincing him that he’s made the right decision in attending the convention with her. When asked for a picture she quickly locks arms with Arnold, beaming into the camera. It was awkward, at first, having total strangers stop to ask for his picture, but after the third or fourth time he started getting used to it, his smile becoming more relaxed.

They pass a large group of people and he nudges Helga, causing her to stop and look in the direction he’s pointing to. 

“Look, I don’t believe this, those guys are all dressed like Iron Man, and there’s a few Thors, and a Hulk and, is that Captain America? What are they all doing?”

“Looks like an Avengers gathering to me, look there’s also a Wasp and wow, get a load of that Black Panther.”

Arnold doesn’t particularly like the way Helga is eyeing the guy in the full bodied Black Panther suit, and gives a little huff, nudging her along. 

“Heh, talk about fake muscles.”

Helga gives him a surprised look before giggling. “Why Arnold Shortman, we’re not here even fifteen minutes and already you’re getting jealous? Heh, maybe next year you can wear something like that, then all the girls will be looking at you.”

“I’m not jealous, I was just making an observation.”

Helga is about to say something when she’s cut off by someone calling out her name. Turning to see who it is, she gives a yell as she runs into the arms of her online friend, Misty. After a moment of girlish giggles and extra hugs, Helga introduces Misty to Arnold.

“Misty, I’d like you to meet my husband, Arnold.”

Misty looks him up and down before giving an approving nod. “So, the infamous Arnold Shortman. I’ve heard soooo much about you over the years, it’s nice to finally being able to meet you.” Tilting her head towards Helga, she whispers, “so, couldn’t get him to wear the contacts, huh?”

Ever polite, Arnold extends his hand, giving Misty an “It’s nice to finally meet you too.” He takes in her costume, starting with her wig. The hair is red and travels all the way down her back. She wears a black tiara and has two horns sticking out of the top of her head. Moving downwards he notices pointy ears and two fangs that stick out of her mouth. Her dress is yellow and she carries a wand just like Helga. He figures she must be some sort of devil princess and wonders how she fits into the whole Star Universe theme.

After a quick shake, Misty drops Arnold’s hand when she notices Phillip. Peering into his stroller, she lets out a high pitched squee. 

“Oh, Helga, he’s even cuter than his pictures! And look at him, he is the cutest Tom ever! How on earth did you get him to sit still long enough to draw such a perfect third eye on his forehead?”

“Believe me, it wasn’t easy. Arnoldo here had to distract him with his favorite train toy while I did it.” She gives her friend the once over. “And I just love your Hekapoo outfit!”

Misty turns in a circle, showing off her costume. “Why thank you.”

Arnold stands in the background, quietly letting the girls catch up. The constant commotion of the busy convention center distracts him, so he doesn’t notice that he’s being approached. He catches a hint of blue out of the corner of his eye, and gives a little shout and a jump, his eyes as big as saucers as he turns around to see a seven-foot tall, blue fox with two tails, each sporting a white tip at their ends. 

His shout gains the attention of Misty and Helga, with the former giving a big smile to the newest visitor.

“Fenny!” Misty yells as she walks up to hug the giant fox. “What took you so long?”

Remaining silent, the blue fox gives a shrug of his shoulders. Ignoring him, Misty introduces her husband to her friends.

“Helga, Arnold, I’d like you to meet my husband, Fenrick the Great, or Fenny for short.”

Unphased by being introduced to a seven-foot fox, Helga reaches out to shake Fenrick’s hand, uh, paw.

“How ya doing Fenny old boy, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

Fenrick takes Helga’s hand, kissing it the best he can. He turns towards Arnold who is still staring at him, with his mouth agape. Helga gives him a nudge in his side, pulling him from his stupor. 

Holding out his hand, Arnold finally finds his voice. “Oh, uh, yeah, I’m Arnold. Nice to meet you.”

Fenrick takes Arnold’s hand, giving it a friendly shake. With a look towards Misty, he gives a nod of his head and a little wave, signaling that he must be off.

“Oh, I’m afraid it’s time for Fenny to go meet up with the rest of his fellow furries.” Walking up to him, she gives him a hug. “You have fun, dear, and I’ll see you back at the room before dinner.”

With a wave to everyone else, Fenrick meanders off to join his friends. Arnold whispers a low “Now I’ve seen everything” under his breath as he watches as his new friend gets lost in the crowd. He’s amazed at how not one person is as taken aback as he was at the sight of a huge fox wandering through the convention center.

He turns towards Helga when he feels her tug on his arm.

“Come on, Arnoldo, its lunchtime and we’re starved. Apparently there’s the cutest little pop up maid café where they’re all dressed up like cats that I’m dying to try.”

“A café where people are dressed like cats,” he thinks to himself, “of course, why not.”

xxxxx

Back in her youth, Helga could go to a convention and be out all day and into the wee hours of the night without having to take a break. It’s a little different when you have a child in tow, however, which is why she now finds herself up in their hotel room while a cranky Phillip peacefully naps. Contrary to Helga’s disappointment to being stuck up in their room, Arnold relishes in the break as he lays on their bed flipping through the channels on the hotel’s TV. 

Helga sits propped up next to him as she thumbs through the hotel’s guide to nearby dining establishments. 

She ponders the many choices. “I wonder where Misty will feel like going for dinner tonight.”

Arnold turns to look at her. “Uh, Helga?”

“Yeah, Arnoldo?”

“Don’t you think it’s kind of strange?”

“What’s strange?”

“Well, a grown man dressing up like a big blue fox. Doesn’t that seem – weird?”

“No, no more weird than a purple dinosaur or a big bear that lives in a blue house.”

“Yeah, but those are actors. This Fenrick guy, he’s, he’s a grown man.”

“So, he’s a grown man with an unusual hobby. You’re a 25 year old man who geeks out to big band music. Are you weird?”

“Well, I’ve never thought of myself as weird. Am I? Weird that is.”

“Arnoldo, yes, you are weird, but your weirdness spans far beyond blue foxes and big band music.”

He gives her a little chuckle. “I guess I am. After all, I did marry my childhood tormentor, right?”

She reaches behind her, grabbing the pillow that’s behind her back and throws it into his face. “Childhood tormentor? What about your adult life? Do I still torment you?”

He reaches over, grabbing her around her waist and pulls her on top of him. Through a rush of giggles she looks down at him as he smiles up at her. “Girl, you and that body of yours torments me every time I’m not balls deep inside of it.”

She looks at him, stunned by his frankness, and gives him her best Scarlett O’Hara in response. “Why Arnold Shortman, I do declare, you’re about to give me the vapors with such talk.”

He looks at her, and runs a finger down her cheek. “So, uh, Helga. In that cartoon you love so much, do Marco and Star ever get freaky with each other?”

“Arnold!” She says as she pushes herself to an upright position. “It’s an innocent kid’s cartoon, it’s not hentai. Of course they don’t”

“Welllll, you write fan fics. Have you ever had them get freaky in any of your stories?”

She blushes while giving him a roll of her eyes. “Well, maybe I have. Once or twice that is. But it’s always in good taste and appropriate for the setting.”

He gives her a wiggle of his eyebrows. “Well, I AM Marco right now, and you ARE Star. Maybe we can come up with some material for a new story.”

Still sitting on top of him, she gives her hips a grind as she presses her forehead to his and says through a smile, “Why you really are a little weirdo, aren’t you.”

Grabbing her hips, he grinds back up into her. “Oh, you have no idea how weird I wanna get right now my little Butterfly.”

His hands come around to the back of her dress, his fingers fumbling with the buttons that fight him, when they hear a voice coming from the other side of the room. Arnold gives a frustrated sigh as he turns to look at his son.

“Unbelievable, cock-blocked by my own flesh and blood. Thanks a lot Phillip.”

Helga gives him a playful slap on his chest. “Don’t talk to your son like that. Once he starts talking we don’t need him using phrases like ‘cock-block’. Besides, it’s going to be time to meet up with Misty and her husband soon for dinner so there wouldn’t be time for anything anyway.”

“As if you’re one to talk, Helga. Anyway, you’re not planning on wearing that outfit out to dinner, are you?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I?”

“Um, because we’ll be out in public?”

“We were in public before and I wore it, so what’s the big deal?”

“No, we were within the confines of the convention hall. Everyone was in costume. Being out in a restaurant is different.”

“Arnold, we are in a downtown area that is hosting the biggest convention in all of Washington. There are going to be people dressed up where ever we go.”

Arnold sits upright when a thought pops into his head. “You don’t think Misty’s husband is going to show up at dinner in his furry outfit, do you?”

“I have no idea, but wouldn’t it be a hoot if he did?”

Arnold leans back against the bed’s headboard secretly praying that he will not have to eat dinner with a seven foot fox. “Oh, yeah, it’d be a regular riot alright.”

xxxxx

With the alarm on Helga’s phone striking 6:00, it was finally time for dinner. Having arranged to once again meet their friends downstairs, the small family makes their way to the elevators. This time they were not so lucky as to find the elevator empty, and soon find themselves sharing the small space with a group of uninhibited Bronies. 

Arnold does his very best not to stare at the colorful group of men that surround him. Afraid of catching someone’s eye and bringing attention to himself, he stares at his shoes when he hears someone addressing his son.

“Well, aren’t you just the cutest little Tom that there ever was.” Arnold looks up to see a man with long pink hair and a matching tail smiling at an amused Phillip.

Phillip gives a little laugh as he reaches out to touch the plush material of the man’s costume, giving him a happy “DA!”

Just when Arnold’s nerves are about to get the best of him, the elevator doors open and he breathes a sigh of relief as he rushes outside. Catching up to him, Helga can’t help but to laugh.

“Oh, Arnoldo, if you could have only seen the look on your face in that elevator, it was classic!”

Still a bit shaken by the odd encounter, Arnold gives her a glare. “I don’t know what you find so funny. I mean, come on, you can’t honestly tell me that that wasn’t a little strange. What was that all about anyway?”

“Arnold, they were Bronies, that’s all. There was nothing to get your shorts all in a bunch over. They were perfectly normal people expressing themselves in a very creative and enthusiastic way. Come on, you really need to loosen up.”

“I don’t know, Helga. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I am definitely out of my comfort zone here.”

“It’s just new to you, and what you’re feeling is to be expected. Come on, give it some more time. I bet you that by tomorrow you’ll really be getting in to it.”

He’s about to disagree when Helga spies Misty on the other side of the room. They make their way over to her, the two girls giving each other a warm embrace upon meeting. As they excitedly chat Arnold notices a tall man patiently standing next to Misty. He’s dressed in regular blue jeans and a long-sleeved button down shirt. He has a well-kept beard and wears a pair of black rimmed, hipster glasses.

The man looks towards him, extending a hand as he smiles. “Well, Arnold my man, good to see you again.”

Not knowing who this man is, Arnold awkwardly takes his outstretched hand, giving it a shake. “Uh, um yeah, it is. Do I know you?”

The man chuckles at Arnold’s question. “Oh, why, I guess you wouldn’t recognize me out of costume, would you. The name’s Frederick. I’m Misty’s husband.” 

Arnold doesn’t know what he was expecting Misty’s husband to be like, but a regular Joe was not first on his list. Relieved that he will not have to be eating dinner next to Fenrick the Great, he relaxes a bit and even starts to smile. Clapping his hands together, he addresses the group.

“So, where to for dinner? I’m starved.”

xxxxx

The walk to the restaurant was a short one, and it wasn’t long before they found themselves sitting in an intimate booth, with Phillip strapped securely in a booster seat between his parents. Freddy, as he was insisting to be called, took the liberty of ordering a bottle of wine for the table, and he raises his glass in a toast.

“To good friends both new”, he looks at Arnold, “and old”’ he gestures to the two women.

“To friends!” Helga shouts, followed by Misty and Arnold. “To friends!”

After a quick study of the menu, they place their orders. Steaks for Arnold and the ladies, and fish for Freddy.

“So, Freddy, you not a beef eater?” Helga asks.

“No, I’m not really into red meat, I’m more of a pescatarian.”

“A pesca what?” Arnold asks.

“A pescatarian. That means I eat mostly vegetables, along with fish and seafood.” 

“Oh, I see.” Arnold says as Freddy refills everyone’s wine glass.

Turning to Arnold, its Freddy’s turn to ask the questions.

“So, Arnold my man. I know that Helga here is a fine writer, but what do you do for a living if I may ask?”

“Oh, well, I’m a guidance counselor at the local high school. Helping people is always something I’ve enjoyed doing. How about you?”

“Why, I teach anthropology at a local college in our area. Been there a good three years now.”

The mention of anthropology piques Arnold’s interest. “Really? I’ve always found the study of other cultures very interesting.”

Finding a common ground, the two men spend the rest of the dinner in deep discussion, and by the end of the second bottle of wine it’s quite evident that the small group has become fast friends. They feel that they could sit in each other’s company all night, but it is when an over tired Phillip begins to scream his annoyance at being cooped up in the booster seat that they regretfully call it a night.

By the time they’ve returned to the convention center Phillip is fast asleep in Arnold’s arms. The new friend’s part ways as Misty and Freddy head to an all-night screening of the anime Naruto, and Arnold and Helga head back to their hotel room. 

Arnold lays next to Helga in the darkened room, her head rests on his chest as her hand rubs small circles on his stomach. He holds her close, every now and then placing small kisses on the top of her head. As they drift off Helga gives him a small nudge.

“Hey, Arnoldo?”

“Hmmm?” he quietly asks.

“So, how do you like it so far?”

He thinks for a moment before answering. “Well, I have to be honest, I do still find this whole experience to be pretty strange, and I don’t really get it. But, after meeting Freddy, I do kind of see what you mean about it just being people expressing themselves in a fun and creative way.”

She smiles into his chest, gloating over her small victory. “See. I knew you’d start coming around, and I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

A small hint of worry forms at the back of his mind. “To-tomorrow? Why? What more do you have in store?”

“Oh, well, tomorrow is the Star versus Evil gathering. Plus, I’ve signed us up to have some professional pictures taken, and then there’s all the panels to choose from, and Artist’s Alley to check out, and all kinds of stuff. It’s going to be so much fun!”

Not quite sure that he agrees, Arnold lets out with a slow, “Surrrre, it’ll be a real blast.”


	121. Chapter 121

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are we ready for another day of fun? Remember, the only thing I own rights to are, Misty, Freddy and Phillip. Oh, and one other character, but you’ll find out about her soon enough. As for now, please enjoy…..

He’s not sure if it was all the excitement of yesterday’s convention adventures, or the two bottles of wine he shared with Helga and her friends at dinner, but Arnold was surprised that he was able to relax enough to actually sleep through the night. His head is still a little foggy as he does his best to open his eyes. Deciding it’s too much of an effort, he closes them, allowing himself to start drifting back to sleep. His hopes of being able to stay in bed a little longer are thwarted when Helga comes rushing out of the bathroom. Walking over to the windows, she flings the heavy blackout curtain open, causing the bright morning sun to shine directly into Arnold’s face. Covering his eyes with his arm he gives a little moan as he turns away from the light.

“Ahhh, geeze, Helga! Shut the drapes, will ya?”

“No, Arnoldo, it’s time for you to get up. We’re meeting Misty and Freddy for breakfast in less than a half an hour.”

“Can’t I skip breakfast and catch up with you guys later?”

“No, we have a full day of events planned and we don’t have a lot of time to waste. Now come on.”

“Okay, okay. What time is it anyway?”

“It’s already 7:30 and we have that appointment to get our pictures taken at 9:30. So that doesn’t leave much time.” She picks up a pillow, hitting him in the face. “Now get up!”

With a grumble, he pushes himself up and hangs his feet over the edge of the bed. Phillip is standing up in his porta crib and gives him a smile.

“DA!” He says as he points to his father.

“Yeah, yeah, Phillip, it’s Da.” 

Arnold takes a closer look at his son, noticing his outfit.

“Hey, that’s not what he was dressed in yesterday. Helga, you didn’t waste good money on TWO outfits for him, did you?”

“What if I did? Look at how cute he is. I couldn’t resist. Besides, it’s only for while we’re out to breakfast. I’m bringing along his Tom outfit for the pictures.”

“Who’s he supposed to be, anyway?”

“Why, he’s Glossaryck of course!”

“Of course, Glossaryck. How could I not have noticed?”

Looking at Helga, he narrows his eyes at her. “Hey, wasn’t your dress pink yesterday?”

“Yeah, it was. What about it?”

“Well, this one is light green. Why do you need two outfits?”

“Because Star wears more than one dress. Besides, I didn’t want to wear the same costume two days in a row.”

“You didn’t buy a second outfit for me, did you?”

“No, I figured I was lucky enough just to get you to wear one. Now, will you please go get ready?”

With a grumble, Arnold shuffles off to the bathroom, receiving another cheery “DA!” from Phillip as he passes.

xxxxx

After receiving a text from Misty that she and Freddy are ready, Arnold straps Phillip into his stroller while Helga gathers up the supplies they will need for the day, and the little family heads out to meet their friends.

Thinking that, by now, he should be ready for anything, it still takes him by surprise to see a six foot lizard come walking up to the couple. He gives the back of his neck a rub as he greets his friends.

“Good morning. Nice, uh, costumes. So, I take it you’re some kind of lizard man?” He asks Freddy.

Helga rolls her eyes. “Criminy, you’ll have to excuse Arnoldo here, he’s not really a big fan of the show.” Turning to Arnold she gestures towards Freddy. “Freddy here is Toffee. He’s a Septarian, a race of humanoid lizards, and he is also Star’s nemesis. And if I’m not mistaken, Misty is Princess Marco Turdina, right Misty?”

“That’s right, Helga.” She looks at Arnold to explain. “Turdina is sort of like Marco in drag.”

Misty gives Arnold a mischievous smile. “I think you should be the one dressed as Turdina, you’d make a perfectly wonderful princess!”

Arnold’s eyes widen in fearful shock as he holds his hands protectively up in front of him. “Oh, no, don’t go giving Helga any ideas. I’m perfectly fine going as regular old Marco again, believe me.”

Ready to move on with the day, Helga gives a little scoff and starts to head towards the elevators. “So, now that Arnoldo’s been caught up to speed, how about we head out to breakfast before I waste away.”

xxxxx

Not wanting to waste much time, they choose to eat breakfast in the hotel’s small café, where they sit among an array of convention goers. Arnold gets a kick out of the poor guests who, when they first made their hotel reservations, had no idea that there would be a convention going on once they’ve arrived. He can sympathize with the poor people as they sit at their tables in stunned silence. Their eyes wide as they try to take in the sights that surround them. 

The café is crowded, and once they’ve finished eating, the waitress does little to hide her eagerness to have the small group move along. Giving Phillip’s face one last wipe, Arnold returns him to his stroller as the girl’s settle up the bill. 

Checking the time on her phone, Helga gives a frustrated huff. “Criminy, breakfast took forever.”

“Yeah,” Misty agrees, “we’ve got just enough time to hoof it to the other side of the convention center to meet the photographer.”

Putting his arm around his wife, Freddy gives a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it, I’m sure he won’t cancel our appointment if we’re just a few minutes late.”

Pushing Phillip’s stroller, Arnold straggles behind the trio, oblivious to their conversations. Up ahead he notices three men that are surrounded by a small crowd of spectators. Splitting off from his group, he joins the crowd and stands in awe as three real life Autobots transform right before his eyes. He cheers along with the rest of the crowd as his favorite of the three magically transforms into his classic yellow Camaro. 

It takes Helga a few moments to realize that Arnold has left the group. Not wanting to miss their appointment all together, she sends her friends on ahead as she turns back to fetch her husband. After a quick search, she spots Arnold in the middle of a growing crowd. Pushing her way up to him, she pulls on his arm to get his attention.

“Hey, Arnoldo, what gives? You’re making us late.”

Turning towards her, she can see the excitement on his face as he talks. “Did you see that! That guy, he’s – he’s Bumblebee! And his costume, it actually transforms! I’ve never seen anything like that. Oh, man, I used to LOVE Transformers when I was a kid!”

Helga can’t help but chuckle at Arnold’s enthusiasm, but they have an appointment to keep and she regretfully pulls him away from the crowd. “Yeah, yeah, that’s way cool, but we gotta go. You can catch up to these guys later. I’m sure they’ll be hanging around all day.”

As they leave to catch up to their friends Arnold can’t help but gush over what he’s just witnessed. “Oh man, Helga, I have to say that I never would have expected to see something like that. That was so freaking awesome!”

“See, Arnoldo, I told you there’d be stuff here that you would like. You just need to learn to trust me more.”

“Yeah, you were right. Wait until I tell Gerald about that. I got some really good pictures too. Man, both Bumblebee AND Optimus Prime. He’s gonna be so pissed that he missed it.”

“Okay, well, worry about that later, we’re here. Now save some of that enthusiasm for the photographer.” 

The next half an hour is spent posing for pictures. For the first set all five friends pose together before breaking off into pairs and ending with individual shots. After a quick wardrobe change for Phillip the last set of pictures are taken and the group is ushered over to a computer where they can pick the poses they want and put them into albums which will then be emailed to them. 

xxxxx

Helga wasn’t kidding when she said that they had a full day ahead of them, but now that they’re done with the pictures they find that they actually have a little time before they have to make it back across the convention center for the Star vs Evil gathering. They take advantage of their brief down time to check out some of the lesser advertised events. 

Freddy notices a door with a sign that reads “Wizard’s Chess”. With everyone’s curiosity at full capacity now he slowly opens the door. Upon entering, they are overtaken by the surreal atmosphere that engulfs them. They can’t help but to feel as if they have stepped into the pages of a Harry Potter novel. Each of the surrounding four walls are decorated with the theme of their respective Hogwarts house. The huge snake that sits on the Slytherin wall stares back at them with its red eyes, silently challenging them to an unspoken duel. The wall to their right sports a lion that sits tall and brave, showing no fear of the other mascots. To their left is a raven, black as night, with a look of great wisdom shining from its dark eyes. Turning to look at the wall behind them, they see the last of the four mascots. It’s a badger that sits patiently watching the goings on that surrounds it.

The four friends stand speechless as their gaze now turns to the center of the room where a circle of chairs surround a life-sized chess board. At the far right and left of the board is a raised throne where two combatants sit facing each other as they direct their chess pieces across the board. The playing pieces themselves consist of actual people, each in a costume that reflects the chess piece in which they play. As the two opponents yell out their moves, the pieces quietly move about the board, striking out at the opposing piece when necessary. The crowd yells out in a loud cheer when the white knight successfully slays its first black pawn. 

Our friends find four empty seats a couple of rows back from the action and sit surrounded by fans dressed in their finest robes and sporting ties and scarfs in their house colors. The newcomers join in on the revelry as the black pieces take their fall one by one. When the contestant in charge of the white pieces yells out his final “Checkmate!” the crowd jumps to its feet, bursting out with shouts of victory.

Freddy looks at his watch, alerting his friends that they really must be on their way if they are to make it to the Star gathering. Reluctant to have to leave so soon, Arnold straps Phillip back into his stroller and the group regretfully heads for the door. They step back onto the convention center floor no longer Hogwarts students, but, once again, the mere muggles that they’ve always been, and make their way to the gathering that awaits.

xxxxx

Once at their second destination of the day, Helga is surprised to see that there are more people gathered than she thought there would be. The group is mostly made up of Star’s and Marco’s with a smattering of secondary characters thrown in for good measure. The star of the show, however is Phillip who is once again in his Tom costume. Loving the attention, the boy hams it up, giving his best, cheesy smile to anyone willing to tell him how cute he looks. 

Arnold thought he was going to hate being forced to socialize with a bunch of Star fanatics, but is surprised to discover that he’s actually having fun. That is, until he comes face to face with his first ever rabid fangirl. 

She’s dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and wears a blonde wig with a blue stripe running down one side of it. Her stares are beginning to make Arnold uncomfortable, and he starts to walk away from her but his efforts are futile. Quickly following him, she calls out to him.

“Hey, Marco, wait up. It’s me, Jackie!”

Catching up to him she immediately grabs onto his arm and hangs onto him as if she were his girlfriend. Stunned at her boldness, he tries to pull away.

“Um, I’m sorry, do I know you?”

She gives a little chuckle. “Oh, Marco, isn’t that just like you, pretending you don’t know who I am. I mean, you’re just my boyfriend is all.”

“What! Boyfriend? I – I’m not your boyfriend, why, I’m a married man, and my wife isn’t exactly the type who likes to see strange girls hanging off my arm.”

This “Jackie” girl follows Arnold’s gaze and gives Helga the once over. Undaunted she clings tighter to Arnold’s arm. “Oh, I’m not scared of Star.”

“Um, that’s not really Star, that’s Helga. My wife.”

With a strong tug, he is finally successful in breaking the strange girl’s grasp and makes a beeline towards Helga. She looks at him, noticing his agitation.

“What’s up, Arnoldo? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”

“It – it’s that girl over there. She thinks I’m actually Marco, and she keeps saying she’s my girlfriend.”

Helga looks over to where Arnold is pointing and gives a small chuckle. “Heh, she’s cosplaying as Jackie Lynn Thomas. She was Marco’s girlfriend for a little while in season two.”

“But, she acts as if we’re really a couple!”

By now Misty and Freddy have joined in on the conversation, both giving chuckles of their own.

Misty gives a laugh. “Ha, well it looks as if Arnold’s met his first ever rabid fangirl. Good luck shaking her, Arnold.”

“Oh great. You don’t think she actually believes she’s Jackie, do you?”

Helga gives a shrug of her shoulders. “Eh, I doubt it. She probably just really gets into the character. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Arnold gives a quick glance back to his newest fan. He turns away quickly when their eyes meet, but not before seeing her blow a kiss in his direction. Taking a step closer to his wife he puts his arm around her waist praying that she is right.

Xxxxx

With Star vs Evil among the smaller of the fan basis, their little gathering didn’t last very long. After about an hour of posing for pictures and reminisces of their favorite episodes of the show, the small band of like-minded fans slowly broke apart, with everyone going their own ways. Pushing Phillip in his stroller, Helga and Misty took the lead while Arnold and Freddy trailed behind. 

Noticing a distinct smell emanating from Phillip’s stroller, Helga makes a quick stop into the women’s bathroom to rectify the situation, leaving the other three to entertain themselves as they wait. Noticing a coffee stand, Misty and Freddy head over to check out what they’ve got. Arnold spends the time scanning the convention floor, feeling a bit more relaxed than he did just a short twenty-four hours ago. Turning his gaze to the left, an uneasy feeling comes over him when he sees Miss Rabid Fangirl standing across the way, half hidden by a Ficus plant. Catching his eye, she quickly blows him a kiss as she continues to stand staring at him. He swallows the lump that has formed in his throat and their eye contact is broken when Helga and Phillip come out of the bathroom. Helga takes in the look on his face as she puts Phillip back into his stroller.

“What’s up, Arnoldo, you look a little pale.” 

He points across the way to where the girl was standing. “It’s that girl from the gathering. I think she’s following us.”

Helga looks in the direction that he is pointing but doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “Um, I think you’re seeing things, Arnoldo, cause there’s no one there.”

He turns to look, wondering how she could have disappeared so quickly. “No, she was right there a second ago, honest.”

Checking his head for a fever and finding none, she smiles sweetly at him. “Okay, Arnold. I’m sure we’re not being followed, it’s probably just your imagination. After all, these last couple of days have been a lot for you to take in.”

He’s about to continue with his insistence that she was, indeed, there, when Misty and Freddy arrived back, lattes in hand.

“We took the liberty of getting us all something to give us energy for the rest of the day.” Misty says as she hands Helga her drink.

“Mmmm, a vanilla latte with just a hint of cinnamon. Good job, Misty. Thanks.”

Feeling proud, Misty gives her friend a smile. “Do I know my online bestie or what?”

With drinks in hand, the foursome continue on their way, with Arnold giving a quick glance over his shoulder, wondering if he was just letting his imagination get the best of him.


	122. Chapter 122

They sit in the hotel’s small coffee shop, sipping their lattes as they quietly chat. The small room is packed with weary convention goers, most not yet having slept after a full night of raves and 24 hour screenings of their favorite shows. Misty and her husband are among the throng of all night revelers and are finding it hard to keep their eyes open. Arnold shakes his head as he looks at the two in amazement.

“I don’t know how you guys do it. I’d be dead right now if I had stayed up all night like that.”

Freddy lets out a huge yawn before answering for the two of them. “Ugh, sorry about that, anyway, it’s not every day that you get to enjoy an event such as Seattlecon, so you’ve got to grab all it has to offer while you can.”

Misty slowly nods her head in agreement. “Freddy’s right, plus with us living so far away, we’re lucky that we even were able to make it this year.”

“But you’re planning on doing it again next year, right?” Helga eagerly asks.

“Oh, yes, and that reminds me, we’ll have to remember to make our hotel reservations for next year before you two leave today.”

A look of disappointment flashes across Freddy’s face. “It’s too bad you guys have to leave the con so early. It doesn’t end until tomorrow, are you sure you can’t extend your stay?”

Helga gives a little shake of her head. “No, not this year. I purposely cut the weekend short because I wasn’t sure how Arnoldo here was going to take it. If he absolutely hated it I didn’t want to prolong his misery too long.”

“Oh, sure,” Arnold jokingly says, “blame me.”

“Come on now, Arnoldo, don’t you deny pitching a royal fit over me persuading you to come here this weekend.”

“Persuasion? Is that what you’re calling it?”

Their two friends gives each other looks as if to say “what are they talking about”. Shrugging their shoulders, they turn to Arnold and Helga, with Misty giving them a raise of her eyebrow.

“So, are we missing something here about how you talked Arnold into joining us this weekend?”

A deep flush immediately colors Arnold’s cheeks and he abruptly speaks up. “Uh, no! No, not at all. I was, uh, just hesitant at first. You know, scared of the unknown and all that jazz.”

Misty looks at the smile on Helga’s face before turning back towards Arnold. “Uh huh, if you say so, Arnold.”

In an effort to take the attention off of her husband, Helga begins to gather up hers and Arnold’s trash. “I hate to break this up, but we really should get going if we want to enjoy the con a bit more before heading back to Hillwood.”

Relieved, Arnold quickly follows suit. “You’re right, we really should get going.”

As they leave the little coffee shop Arnold stops in his tracks when he notices Miss Rabid Fangirl standing in front of the hotel gift store that sits directly across from them. She gives him a small wave, causing him to immediately turn to Helga.

“Helga, look, it’s her!”

Helga looks in the direction he’s pointing. “Huh? Her who?”

“That girl that’s been following me, she’s standing right there……………”

He drops his hand and stares into the now empty spot. “I swear, she was just there.”

“I don’t know, Arnoldo, I think you’re just letting your imagination run away with you.”

Knowing that it will do no good to argue, Arnold just drops the subject. “You’re right, Helga. Must just be my imagination.”

Nothing more is said as the foursome, plus Phillip, head back to the convention center.

xxxxx

Saving what Helga feels is the best for last, the small group enters the convention’s vendor’s room. With the convention spanning over such a vast array of interests, Helga is not surprised to find the room to be one of the bigger ones the center has to offer. For ease of shopping, it is broken down into separate areas for each of the different genres. Each genre is sectioned off by partitions, above which hang signs telling the shopper what they will find within their walls. There are categories for interests such as Anime, Comic Books, Cartoons, Video Games and the like, with each section divided into smaller sub-sections. Within each area are booths which can be rented for a nominal fee where a vendor can set up shop, selling their wares to interested buyers. 

The friends take their time, choosing to check out the cartoon section first. A smile comes to Arnold’s face when he sees a vendor specializing in memorabilia pertaining to one of his favorite childhood cartoons, Yo Ernest. He picks up a small figurine, examining it before placing it back down and picking up another. Out of pure nostalgia, he purchases a small figure of Ernest to hang on his key chain before continuing on to the next booth. After a moment he hears a squeal coming from Phillip’s stroller and follows the boy’s gaze, wondering what has him so excited. Finding the cause of his son’s joy, he pushes the stroller up to a stand fully stocked in a large amount of Thomas the Tank Engine merchandise. 

Looking at all the vendor has to offer, Arnold picks up a stuffed Thomas and shows it to Phillip. With another squeal and a kick of his feet, Phillip reaches for the stuffed toy, grabbing it out of his father’s hands and squeezing it close to his chest. 

With a laugh, Arnold turns to the vendor as he reaches for his wallet. “Well, it looks like you’ve just made yourself a sale.”

The vendor peers over the top of her display table and smiles when she sees a happy Phillip babbling to his newest toy. Walking around the table, she squats down and talks to the boy.

“Well aren’t you just the cutest thing. Looks like you really like trains.” She holds up a round sticker, the smiling face of Thomas spread across it. Carefully peeling it from its backing, she puts it on the front of Phillip’s shirt. “There ya go little one, a gift from one rail fan to another.”

Phillip gives the newest addition to his attire a look that could pass as awe as he brings up a finger and runs it against the sticker’s smooth surface. He smiles up at the lady, instantly melting her heart. 

Arnold thanks the woman as she stands back up. “Aw, thanks for the sticker, you just made his day.”

“Always glad to see a happy customer.” She says as she makes her way back to her table.

After paying for his son’s toy, Arnold slowly meanders on to the next vendor. As the walks, a ripping sound can be heard coming from Phillip’s stroller as the boy continually removes and replaces the sticker that was just put on his shirt.”

Eventually, Arnold finds his wife in an animated conversation with the owner of the Star vs Evil booth. Moving closer he patiently waits for the two to stop talking before clearing his throat and gaining his wife’s attention.

“Oh, there you are Arnoldo. I was wondering where you went off to.”

He gives a nod of his head, gesturing to their son. “Phillip and I made a stop at the Thomas booth.”

“Well, I can see that. What do you have there, Philly boy?”

Phillip holds up his stuffed Thomas, letting out a happy “DA!”

“Ohhh, what a nice Thomas, your daddy spoils you, doesn’t he.” 

“Hey, that’s not spoiling him, we’ve all gotten a little something from the convention so it’s only fair that he gets something too.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. So, where to next?”

Arnold scans the showroom, his eyes landing on the sign that designates the anime section. “I think I’d like to see if I could find some DBZ stuff. Maybe if I can find something that Gerald might like he may be more willing to come with us next year and he can see for himself what this whole weekend has been all about.”

Helga can’t help but to look at her husband in amazement. “I do have to say I’m surprised.”

Arnold gives her a quizzical look. “Surprised? At what?”

“Well, I KNEW you’d have a good time this weekend, but I never dreamed you’d be so anxious to come back. I have to say, I’m impressed.”

Arnold gives the back of his neck a little rub. “Yeah, I’m kind of surprised myself. This really has been fun, and I’m glad we got to experience it as a family.”

“Come here.” Helga says as she grabs him by his shirt collar and pulls him to her. She kisses him, and right as he begins to return the kiss they are interrupted by the clearing of Misty’s throat.”

“Ahem, we’re not interrupting anything, are we?”

The two break apart and give their friends an embarrassed smile.

“Sorry about that.” Helga quickly says, “I was, uh, just thanking Arnoldo here for being such a good sport about the convention.”

Misty gives Helga a nod of her head. “Riiight. Anyway, we should see if we can make our hotel reservations for next year while you guys are still here.”

Helga looks at Arnold. “You sure about wanting to come back next year?”

Arnold sees the hopeful look in her eyes and places a hand to her cheek. “Yeah, Helga, I think that would be a lot of fun. Count me in.”

A wide smile spreads across Helga’s face as she throws her arms around Arnold. “Yay! I already can’t wait!”

With a wave to their husbands, the two women head back to the hotel, leaving their men to finish wandering the showroom floor. After taking in all they care to see, they find a quiet spot to sit and wait for their wives. They engage in a bit of people watching as they talk.

“So, Arnold, it looks like Seattlecon just may become an annual event.”

Arnold smiles at his friend. “Yeah, I guess so. Who’d of thought?”

“To be honest, both our wives did. As a matter of fact Misty and I had a little bet going on whether or not you’d want to come back.”

“Oh yeah? Who won?”

“Wellll, let’s just say I have a whole month’s worth of housework waiting for me once we get back home.”

Arnold notices the disappointed look on Freddy’s face. “Ohhh, that bad huh?”

“Yeah, I’m on the hook for everything, Misty won’t have to lift a finger all month. But that’s okay, maybe if she’s more relaxed she might have an easier time conceiving.”

Placing a sympathetic hand on Freddy’s shoulder, Arnold agrees with his friend. “Yeah, you never know.”

xxxxx

With next year’s hotel reservations made, the two couples make their way to the front of the hotel. Arnold hands their ticket stub to the hotel’s valet while Misty and Helga engage in a tearful embrace. 

“I’m going to miss you guys so much.” Misty says as she wipes the tears from her eyes.

“Yeah, me too, but we can still meet up online, right?”

“Of course! Plus we can always Facetime on our phones, and who knows, maybe you and Arnold can come visit us this summer.”

“I’ve always wanted to visit Canada, yeah, that would be fun. If we can make the time. Arnold has a class that starts up next week, and our friends are getting married and we’re in the wedding. So I guess we’ll just have to play it by ear.”

“Okay, the offer’s good anytime, just let us know.”

The girls exchange another round of hugs as the valet pulls the Packard up to the curb. After helping Arnold load up their suitcases, the valet nods his head towards the car. “I’m a bit of an old car buff and I have to say, that’s some beauty you’ve got there.”

Always proud to show off his beloved Packard, Arnold puffs his chest out a bit. “Thanks, it used to be my grandfather’s.”

“I see it’s been repainted. Whoever did it did a really good job matching the original green.”

Arnold brings up a hand to the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah, thanks. We had it repainted when I was a kid. It was stolen out of my grandfather’s garage and by the time we found out who took it they had repainted it an awful red. My grandfather was furious.”

“Oh, well it’s a good thing you even got it back. Classics like this, and in this good of shape, are hard to come by.”

“Yeah, we were lucky they didn’t do too much damage.”

Anxious to get on the road, Helga interrupts their conversation. “Anytime now Arnoldo!”

Slipping the valet a few bucks, Arnold says his good-byes. “I guess that’s my cue to get going. You have a good day.”

“Yeah, you too, and thanks for the tip.”

Once in the car, they give their friends one last wave good-bye as Arnold carefully pulls away from the curb. As they slowly head into traffic Arnold looks out the passenger side window only to see Miss Rabid Fangirl waving to him from the sidewalk in front of the hotel. He diverts his gaze back to the traffic in front of him and hits the gas, speeding away without looking back.

xxxxx

With an exhausted Phillip sound asleep in his crib, Helga slips into bed, snuggling close to her husband. They lay in the darkened room, Helga’s head on Arnold’s chest as she rubs her cheek across his bare skin. He wraps her up in his arms, softly kissing the top of her head as one hand trails down the side of her body. Her hand brushes across his hips, stopping to rest between his upper thighs. After giving his jewels a gentle cup of her hand she trails her fingers up the length of him, slowly petting him with gentle strokes. He closes his eyes, enjoying the feel of her touch. 

She starts to trail kisses from his chest to his neck, stopping to talk between each one. “So – Arnoldo – on a scale of one to ten – how would you – rate – your first – convention experience?”

The darkness hides the smile that sits on his face as he turns his body towards her. Grabbing her leg, he hoists it over his hip. The heat that emanates from her core beckons him towards her. “I think I’d give it nine.” He says before allowing Little Arnold to bask in her warmth.

“Only a nine?” She asks with a pout. “Why not a ten?”

“Because.” He answers with a thrust of his hips. “There wasn’t enough of this, my little Butterfly.”

Rolling to her back, she pulls him on top of her and wraps her legs securely around his hips, secretly smiling at her new nickname.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you have it, Arnold’s first ever convention. A lot of it was based off of old memories of the few conventions I’ve had the pleasure of attending. Believe it or not, Rabid Fangirl is a real thing, and yes, that did happen to a member of our group. Although not quite to extent that poor Arnold had to put up with. To the readers out there that have had the opportunity to attend conventions of your own, I’d love to hear some of your funnier memories in the reviews. So now that our favorite couple is finally back home it’s time for a Shortman summer! I’m not sure how soon I will be able to get the next chapter posted though what with Christmas only about a week and a half away, but if I can carve out some time hopefully I’ll have the next chapter up before the holiday. If I don’t, I want to make sure to wish everyone a very joyous season. No matter what you believe or celebrate, may it be a time of special memories for you. As for now, I’m outta here, but hopefully not for too long!


	123. Chapter 123

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohmygerd, I actually got a chapter done! I know this is a bit short, and could probably be a bit longer, but it feels like it’s been forever since I’ve last posted, and I just want to put something out there. Plus it does serve the purpose of kick starting the summer arc, so that’s good. Now that the holidays are over, and once I’m settled back into my normal routine at work, I hope to start posting more regularly again. I hope you all had a great holiday with a good start to the New Year. As I’ve said, I know this is short, but I hope you enjoy it anyway…….

He stands in front of her pointing to his hair, a look of worried dismay sits on his face. “Look at this, Helga, just look! It’s still brown. You SWORE to me that the dye was only temporary. I’ve been washing my hair for days, and it’s STILL brown! What do you have to say about this?”

Helga stares at the top of his head, a look of true confusion on her face. “I – I don’t know, Arnoldo. The box said it was temporary dye. I have no clue as to why it won’t wash out.”

He looks at her accusingly. “Are you SURE that’s what it said?”

Helga is taken aback at his question. “YES, of course I am. Are you saying I lied to you?”

He flails his arms about as he paces back and forth. “Well, I don’t know, let’s see. You talk me into dying my hair, swearing up and down that it’s just temporary and will be gone within no more than five washings” Stopping in front of her, he holds up his right index finger emphasizing the point he is trying to make. “Now here it is a week since the convention and my hair is STILL brown and showing absolutely no signs of lightening.”

“Arnold Shortman! How dare you accuse me of lying! I’ll prove it to you. The box should still be in the recycle bin.”

She turns and runs out the back door to where they keep their recycling. Digging through the array of cardboard and plastic she finds the box. Giving the outside a thorough once over a feeling of dread comes over her. Hesitant, but unable to prolong the inevitable, she takes it inside with her.

“Oh, Arnold.” She starts, a small shake can be heard in her voice. “I promise you, I swear that I thought this was a temporary dye.”

He takes the box from her, reading the word “Permanent” that sits across the top. He reads off what it says, strongly punctuating each syllable. “It says right here, ‘Perm-a-nent.”

“But I swear to you, I was standing right in front of the temporary dyes. I was just focusing in on the color, someone must have put the permanent dye in with the temporary ones by mistake. Oh, Arnold, I’m so sorry.”

“What am I supposed to do now? My summer class starts on Monday!”

“Well, we can try bleaching your hair, and then maybe dying it a nice blonde to match your normal color?”

He holds his hands up in front of him. “Oh no. No way am I letting you at my hair again. With my luck the bleach will be too strong and it will burn all my hair off. I’d rather teach class as a brunette than be prematurely bald.”

A small giggle escapes Helga at the thought of a bald Arnold.

“What are you laughing at? I see nothing funny about this at all.”

“Now, Arnold. I really am sorry, but it will all work out okay. Once your hair starts to grow out you can get a buzz cut or something. Your hair grows fast, I’m sure it will be grown out enough to cut well before the beginning of the next school year.”

“I guess.” He reluctantly agrees before another thought hits him. “Oh my God, the wedding! It’s only a few weeks away! What about the wedding?”

“Ohhh, I forgot about that. Well, I’m sure it will be fine. You’ll just have really short hair.”

Unable to really be mad over an honest mistake, all he can do is shake his head at her. “Only you, Helga, can get me in a mess like this.”

Seeing that she’s forgiven, she wraps her arms around his neck. “And only you are gracious enough to forgive such an unforgivable blunder.”

He smiles at her as he leans in, giving her a small kiss. “Yeah, well, you make it hard to stay mad at. Anyway, what are your plans for the day? Wanna take Phillip to the park and maybe have a little picnic while we’re there?”

Helga sticks out her bottom lip in a pout. “Aw, I wish I could, but I told Lila I’d go shopping with her for bride’s maid’s dresses.”

Pulling her closer, he lightly presses his forehead to hers as he hugs her. “Well that sucks. I guess I’ll give Gerald a call then and see what he’s up to. We can make it a guy’s day.”

Helga gives him a doubtful look. “I’m not sure if you’re going to want to be taking Phillip out, he woke up with a runny nose and a very grumpy attitude. I think he might be coming down with something.”

“You really think so? No one around here has been sick, so where could he have picked it up?”

“Really, Arnold? Come on, I can tell you exactly where he picked it up. Remember those drool filled train toys you let him play with at the convention?”

“You think he could have picked up something from those trains?”

“Well, doi, of course. Those toys were gross, and he had them in his mouth.” She replies through a shudder.

“Okay, well, then it will be a guy’s day in. Maybe I can talk Gerald into coming over and watching the Mariners’ game on TV.”

Pulling out of his embrace, she gives his shoulder a pat as she leaves the kitchen. “Sitting in front of the TV, stuffing your faces with junk food as you watch sports. That’s got Gerald’s name written all over it. I’m sure you guys will have a wonderful time. Just don’t forget that there’s a toddler in the house that needs watching too.”

“Ha, ha, very funny. Don’t worry, Phillip will be sitting right between us, learning the finer points of stealing home.”

Helga gives a little giggle as she heads up the stairs. “If you say so, Arnoldo.”

xxxxx

Being as quiet as she can, Helga opens the nursery door and makes her way towards Phillip’s crib. She peers down at her son, noticing the light flush to his cheeks. Reaching down, she places her hand to his forehead and frowns at the warmth she feels emanating from him. She feels an arm drape around her shoulders as Arnold sidles up next to her. 

Careful not to wake Phillip up, Arnold talks softly in her ear. “How’s he doing?”

She gives a small shake of her head. “Not so good, he feels a little hot. Maybe I should call Lila and tell her I can’t make it today.”

“Naw, it will be alright, he’ll have his daddy and uncle to take care of him. Besides, Lila’s counting on your help.”

“You’re right, we’re late on finding a dress as it is. It’s a good thing she’s not having a big wedding party. One dress should be easy to manage on such short notice. Any more and she’d be in trouble.”

“What about her dress? Has she picked one out yet?”

“She didn’t need to, her dad saved her mom’s dress from when they got married and she’s decided to wear that as a way to remember her mom. She said that by wearing her dress it would make her feel as if she was right there with them. It’s kind of sweet really.”

Knowing how it feels to miss one’s parents, Arnold smiles softly. “Yeah, I can understand how she feels.”

Helga wraps an arm around her husband as she leans her head towards his. “You still miss them, don’t you?”

“Yeah, it’s an emptiness that never really gets filled, but it’s also something I’ve come to terms with as just a part of life. Besides, everything happens for a reason, right?”

“That’s what they say, although sometimes I can’t help but question why things happen like they do. It’s just one of those great mysteries.”

Their attention is brought back to their son when they hear him give a small grunt as his eyes begin to flutter open. Helga goes to reach for him but is stopped by Arnold.

“No, don’t let him see you. If he’s not feeling well and he sees you there he’ll never let you out of his sight. Go on and get ready to meet Lila. I’ll take care of Phillip.”

Helga begins to protest. “But –“

“No, don’t worry, it’ll be fine. Now go before he fully wakes up.”

Hesitant at first to leave her sick child, she realizes that Arnold is just as capable of taking care of him as she is, and finally acquiesces and leaves the room. 

The door closes behind her just as Phillip’s eyes come fully open. He lays quietly for a moment, looking at the figures that sit painted on the wall across from him. Recognizing his surroundings he now turns his attention to the queasy feeling in his stomach, and the dull pain that fills his stuffed up head. Squeezing his eyes shut once more, he does the only thing he knows how to do in a situation like this and lets out with a loud wail. He is surprised at how quickly his cries are answered and his loud wails turn to soft sobs as he is lifted from his crib. 

The combination of scent and the firmness with which he is held, tells him that it is Da that holds him and he buries his face deep into his father’s chest. As Arnold rests his cheek on Phillip’s head it is his turn to feel the heat that wafts off of him and he gives his son a worried frown.

“Aww, you not feeling well Philly Boy?” He asks as he rocks him back and forth. “Maybe a little baby Advil will make you feel better.”

Walking over to Phillip’s changing table, he rummages through the various baby supplies until he finds what he’s looking for. He takes the small bottle of cherry flavored liquid and fills the enclosed dropper to the specified amount. Holding it up to Phillip’s face, the boy immediately purses his lips tightly shut as he shakes his head no, causing a bit of the liquid to smear across his cheek.

“Aw, Phillip, look at what you made me do. Come on now and take your medicine. It will make you feel a lot better.”

Arnold tries again only to have Phillip push his father’s hand away from his face as he begins to scream. With Phillip’s mouth open in mid-scream, Arnold seizes the moment and quickly squirts the medicine onto the boy’s tongue. With a wince and a shake of his head, Phillip reluctantly swallows the offending concoction, but not before giving his father a glowering, Pataki scowl.

Arnold lets out a little laugh at his son’s expression. “I swear, you look just like your mother there Philly boy.”

Unamused, Phillip gives him a curt, “No!” before laying his head against his father’s chest once again.”

Grabbing Phillip’s stuffed Thomas toy from the crib, Arnold hands it to his son. “Awww, Phillip, I’m sorry you’re not feeling well. Tell ya what, how about we go downstairs and I’ll call your Uncle Gerald and see if he wants to come over. Then you and I can sit together downstairs and watch a Thomas DVD while we wait for him to come over. How does that sound?”

Without lifting his head, Phillip gives a quiet “Da” as Arnold carries him downstairs. 

Sitting Phillip down on the couch he puts Phillip’s favorite Thomas the Tank Engine disc into the DVD player. A small smile comes to the boy’s face when he hears the familiar opening theme song. Happy to see his son smiling again, Arnold grabs his phone as he sits down, reaching out to steady Phillip when he crawls into his lap. 

Pressing his back firmly against Arnold’s chest, Phillip watches the DVD through half-closed eyes. He contentedly sucks the thumb of one hand while holding tightly to his stuffed Thomas with the other.


	124. Chapter 124

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know why, but for some reason I picture Lila’s mom having been married wearing an old fashioned, gunny sack wedding dress. If you have no idea as to what I’m talking about, I’m providing a link to a picture. Hopefully you can type that address into your browser and the picture will pop up. If it doesn’t, just Google “Gunny sack wedding dresses” and you’ll get an idea as to what I’m imagining. I imagine this in ivory, but with more lace.   
> https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e5/30/65/e530657551e6f56eef743fba0f142765.jpg Next, the name Swiss Miss is trademarked and not mine.
> 
> Also, the term “chevron” is used in this form: “Chevron, noun. Any V-shaped pattern or device.”

Helga quickly throws her Subaru into park and grabs her purse, mentally chastising herself for her bad habit of always running late. At least she had a good excuse this time, what with the extra minutes she spent worrying over a sick Phillip as he slept. She still feels a bit guilty over sticking Arnold with a sick child, but she would have felt even worse if she had backed out on her promise to accompany Lila to her dress fitting. Plus, this was probably her last opportunity to find a dress of her own and have it altered in time for the wedding. 

Running through the parking lot, she throws the door to Wedding Belle’s open and rushes inside. Scanning the showroom floor, she sees Lila sitting patiently as she waits to be called for her appointment. Relieved that she hasn’t missed the fitting, Helga smiles as she calls to her friend.

“Hey, Lila. Sorry I’m late.”

Dragged from her daydream, Lila gets up to give Helga a warm hug. “Oh, Helga, I’m ever so glad you could make it, and don’t worry, they haven’t even called my name yet.”

“That’s good.” Helga says as she and Lila sit down. “I would have felt awful if I had missed the appointment.”

“I see you were able to find a sitter for Phillip.”

“Yeah, he’s at home with Arnold. The poor little guy woke up this morning with what I think is going to turn into a nasty cold. I just hope Arnoldo can handle him. Phillip can be awfully cranky when he’s not feeling well.”

“Oh, I’m ever so certain that Arnold can handle it, he really is a great dad.”

A warmth spreads through Helga at the thought of Arnold and her son. “Yeah, he really is.”

Their conversation is cut short when they hear Lila’s name being called.

“Lila Sawyer?”

Lila gives a quick, “That’s me.” As she stands up.

The sales girl walks up to her, offering her hand for Lila to shake. “Hello, Lila, I’m Haley, I’ll be assisting you with your fitting this morning.” She turns her attention to Helga now. “And you must be the maid of honor?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m Helga.”

Clapping her hands together, the sales girl leads them to the fitting rooms. “Excellent. Now, if you both will follow me, I have a room all ready for you. Oh, and I put the bride’s maid dresses you picked out in there too, Ms. Sawyer.”

Helga cocks an eyebrow at Haley’s statement. “Bride’s maid dresses?”

“Oh, yes, Helga. I do hope you don’t mind, but while I was waiting I found a few of the cutest dresses for you to try on. Any one of them would go just perfectly with my dress.”

Afraid of what she’s going to find waiting for her in the dressing room, Helga gives a worried, “That’s just greaaat.” As she follows Lila into the room.

A wave of deja vu hits Helga as she steps into the same fitting room she used to try on the dress she wore for hers and Arnold’s vow renewal. A soft sigh escapes her as her mind momentarily casts back to that night. Shaking it off, she remembers just why she’s there and walks over to the array of pastel colored dresses that hang from a clothes rack. 

“So, I, uh, guess these are the bride’s maid’s dresses you picked out?”

“Oh yes, I do hope you find one you like out of the bunch.”

Rummaging through them, Helga does her best to sound enthused. “I’m sure any one of these will be just fine.”

After giving the dresses a quick once over, she notices a vintage gown that hangs separate from the others. “Lila, this dress, it – it’s so pretty.”

Walking up to Helga, Haley takes the dress off the rack, holding it out so both girls can get a better look.

“Why, thank you, Helga. This was my mother’s wedding dress. My father has saved it all these years in hopes that I would someday wear it at my own wedding.”

Handing the gown to Lila, Haley makes a quick exit. “It really is a beautiful example of the old, vintage gunny sack dresses that were so popular in the 70’s and early 80’s. I’m going to run and get our seamstress while you try it on. I won’t be but a minute.”

With the two girls now alone in the dressing room, Helga is quick to help Lila into her mother’s dress. She stands back, staring at the sight before her. 

A pale blush spreads across Lila’s cheeks as she stands in front of the three way mirror. Vague memories of her mother pull at her mind as she stares at the dress she is wearing. The ivory lace gently caresses her slender neck as it flows down past her shoulders. The sleeves hang loose and puffy before gathering at her lower arms, where the material ends snugly at her wrists. At the bodice is a chevron of ruffle that runs down her chest which is brought to a stop by a tightly cinched waistband. The skirt of the dress flows delicately around her, slightly clinging to her legs as she slowly turns to get a better look in the mirror. The feel of the material as it touches her skin brings her a sense of peace, as if it is her mother’s loving arms that she is feeling, surrounding her with her presence. 

The air becomes thick with emotion, catching Helga off guard as she is rendered momentarily speechless. Eventually, she finds her voice and speaks barely above a whisper. “Lila, you, you look so beautiful.”

Wiping a tear that has been slowly trailing down her cheek, Lila gives Helga a smile. “Thank you ever so much, Helga. I’m so glad you don’t find it too old fashioned.”

“No, not at all. For some reason it really suits you. It will be perfect for your outdoor wedding.”

“That’s what I was thinking too. Also, just think of how lovely it will look with the wreath of wildflowers I plan on wearing in my hair. Yours too as a matter of fact.”

The mention of having to wear flowers in her hair brings up a sad memory for Helga of her old nanny, Inga, and how she was made to go to school looking like the Swiss Miss milkmaid. It surprises her that after all these years thoughts of Inga would pop into her mind, and she wonders just what ever became of her. Regretful at the nasty way she treated the woman, she pushes the thoughts out of her mind.

“So, uh, which one of these bride’s maid’s dresses do you want me to try on first?”

Giving the dresses a moment of contemplation, Lila reaches for a light yellow one in a similar style to the dress she is wearing. “After looking at my mother’s dress once again, I feel certain that this yellow dress would be just perfect for you.”

A little unsure, Helga hesitantly takes the dress from Lila. “Yellow, huh? You sure it won’t clash with my blonde hair, or make me look too pale?”

“Oh, not at all. You always tan so nicely in the summer. I’m certain that yellow would look oh so lovely on you.”

Wanting to please the bride, Helga puts on the dress and the two friends admire their reflections in the mirror. Although Helga’s dress is a bit more subdued than Lila’s, she is concerned over the sheerness of the gossamer fabric. “Um, don’t you find the sheerness of this fabric to be a bit risqué for a wedding?”

Lila gives a little chuckle. “Well, it will be lined of course, you silly. I wouldn’t make you parade around in front of everyone in a see through dress.” Lila stops to give her a little wink. “You can save that for Arnold after the wedding.”

Giving her friend a knowing smile, Helga looks at herself once again in the mirror. “Not a bad idea. Ok, I’m sold. If you like the dress then I like it too.”

Happy to have one more matter checked off her list, Lila pulls Helga in for a tight hug. “Thank you ever so much, Helga, I know you’re going to look just beautiful.”

With the store’s seamstress in tow, Haley enters the small dressing room once again and the next hour is spent in a flurry of last minute measurements and assurances that both dresses will be ready for pick up in plenty of time for the wedding. 

xxxxx

“Well that went quicker than I thought it would.” Helga says as the two girls make their way through the parking lot. “It’s just about noon and I’m starving, how about we grab something to eat before you head back up to the farm, my treat?”

“Why that’s a lovely idea. I could use something to eat too. Plus that will give us a chance to discuss just how we’re going to go about getting Priscilla to actually make it down the aisle.”

“Priscilla? As in the pig we gave you, that Priscilla?”

“Yes, don’t you think she’d make just the cutest flower girl, or, uh, flower pig I guess I should say? We have Phillip as ring bearer so we just HAVE to have a flower girl, and I have grown oh so fond of her.”

Helga shakes her head as she gets in her car. “Criminy.” She whispers to herself, “A flower pig. Of course, why not.” 

xxxxx

Arnold paces the floor of the family room, doing his best to sooth a hysterical Phillip. The boy’s deafening screams have been assaulting Arnold’s ears for the past hour despite any of his efforts to calm the child. At first, Gerald did his part as best friend, refusing to abandon his buddy in his time of need, but after the first half an hour, the screams became too much and he suddenly remembered some work that was waiting for him at home in regards to the summer history class he would be teaching. He will be teaching an extra credit class based around local urban legends and their origins, and he wanted, so he said, to go over his notes one last time to make sure that there was nothing missing.

Hardly able to blame his friend for his quick retreat, Arnold checks the old grandfather clock. He wonders how much longer Helga’s going to be as he continues to sooth his child.

“Aw, Phillip, I know you want your mommy, I want her too. I’m sure she won’t be much longer. Why, I bet any second now she’ll come walking through the kitchen door.”

As if on que, Arnold hears the back door open and heaves a sigh of relief at his wife’s voice.

Helga enters the family room with her hands pressed firmly to her ears. “Criminy! What in the world is going on here, Arnoldo? I could hear Phillip’s screams all the way out into the backyard.”

“Helga, thank God you’re home. Phillip’s been crying for you for the last hour.”

Helga’s expression turns from irritated to concerned, at the sight of her sick child as he lays limply in her husband’s arms. Reaching out, she takes Phillip from Arnold. “Oh my poor baby, it’s okay, your mommy is home now.” She turns to Arnold for an explanation to her son’s condition. “What happened to make him so upset?”

Arnold gives a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t know. His fever had gone up, so I gave him more of his medicine drops. He was okay for a little while, but then all of a sudden he started screaming. I really think he just isn’t feeling well and wants his mommy.”

“Why didn’t you call me when he first started to cry? I would have come home earlier.”

“I didn’t want to disturb your time with Lila, it’s not often that you get a chance to hang out with her. Besides, I really thought he’d calm down.”

“Now, Arnold, you know that my first priorities are to my family.” She hugs her son a little tighter and resumes cooing into his ear. “Now, now Phillip, it’s all going to be okay. Your mommy loves her little Philly Boy.”

The sound of his mommy’s voice works its magic to calm Phillip and soon his screams turn to quiet sobs as he buries his face into her shoulder. He lets out with a muffled “Mama”, instantly melting Helga’s heart.

“It’s amazing how quickly you can get him to calm down.” Arnold says as he gently strokes his son’s head.

Helga can’t help but to kiss her son’s hot forehead. “I’m sure it’s just a mommy thing.” She pauses for a moment before continuing. “Arnold, promise me that next time you’ll call me, regardless of what I’m doing, okay?”

“Okay, I promise.”

“So, what happened to Geraldo, I thought the three of you were going to have some ‘man time’ while I was out.” 

“Well, he did come over, and we spent most of the afternoon watching the Mariner’s game like we’d planned. But I guess it became too much for him once Phillip started crying and wouldn’t calm down. You can’t blame him, though. He did his best to stick it out.”

“Eh, his time will come soon enough. Pretty soon his bachelor days will be over and before you know it, it will be his turn to walk the floor with a sick child. Although with Phoebe’s schedule, who knows how long they’ll wait to have kids. I just hope today’s experience hasn’t scared him off the idea of kids entirely.”

Noticing that Phillip has finally fallen asleep, Helga takes the boy upstairs to his crib. Once laid down, the relieved parent’s take a moment to watch their son. Arnold wraps an arm around Helga as she leans her head on his shoulder.

“His cheeks are still pretty rosy.” Helga says as she feels his forehead with the back of her hand. “How long has it been since his last dose of medicine?”

“About two hours. You think we should call the doctor?”

“No, not yet. Let’s give it some more time. If he’s still like this tomorrow we can bring him to the Urgent Care down the street. In the meantime I can call Phoebe with his symptoms and see what she has to say.”

“Okay, sounds good to me. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving, I never did get a chance to eat lunch. I’m going to fix myself a sandwich. You want anything?”

Sitting down in the rocking chair, Helga gives her head a bit of a shake. “No, you go ahead. I’m going to hang out here for a bit, just in case he wakes up.”

Arnold gives her a bit of a frown. “You don’t have to do that, Helga. We do have the baby monitor you know.”

“I know that, Arnoldo. I just want to stay close for a bit to make sure he’s fully asleep.”

He leans down, placing a kiss on top of her head. “Okay, just don’t be too long, I’ve missed you while you were out. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” She says through a smile as he leaves the room, closing the door behind him. 

xxxxx

Later that night she lets out a long, satisfied moan as she sits straddled on top of him. The worry and tension she had been harboring that afternoon slowly leaving her with each delicious wave of pleasure that washes over her. She picks up the pace when she feels his hands grab onto her hips, his fingers digging into her flesh as he thrusts deeper into her. She draws out his name at the height of her climax, arching her back as she speaks. “Ohhh, Arrrnollld, God, please, don’t stop!”

Never wanting anything more than to please his wife, Arnold does as he is bid, and, gathering the last of his strength, delays his own ending in an effort to prolong hers. He lets out a series of primal grunts, giving Helga what she wants until he can no longer take it. Grabbing her by her upper body, he flips her off of him onto her stomach. Lifting her hips, he’s back inside her in the blink of an eye, his grunts turning to moans of his own. It only takes a moment for him to reach his own sweet release before collapsing on top of her. 

The two lay in a sweaty afterglow, their synchronized breathing coming in short gasps. Finally catching her breath enough to speak, Helga does her best to lift her body from under the weight of her husband.

“Ugh, Arnoldo, can’t – breathe.”

Reluctant to leave the warmth of his wife’s body, Arnold begrudgingly rolls off of her. “Oh, Sorry, Helga. That better?”

Rolling onto her back, Helga takes a deep breath. “Yeah, thanks.”

Moving closer to her, Arnold rests his head on her bare chest, rubbing his cheek against the softness of her breasts. “You know, Helga, I just can’t ever get enough of you. You really drive me crazy, you know that?”

She giggles as she runs her fingers through his brown hair. “Yeah, you’re pretty irresistible yourself there Bucko.”

Smiling, he places a kiss on her right breast before sitting up. With his back propped up against the bed’s headboard, he gazes down at her. “So, I never got the chance to ask about your day with Lila. How did the fitting go?”

She sits up next to him, resting a hand on his upper thigh. She thinks about her answer as she absentmindedly rubs his leg. “It went ok. Her dress is really very pretty. It’s covered in vintage lace and has a real ‘Mother Nature’ type of feel to it. Perfect for Lila’s personality.” She pauses for a moment before continuing. “Hey, Arnoldo?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you find it strange how things turned out?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, here I am, playing maid of honor to your old schoolboy crush. I mean, for a while back in the 4th grade I saw Lila as my greatest competition for your affection.”

“Yeah, but we were just kids then. None of us even really knew what real love was.”

“I did. For as long as I can remember I knew I loved you, and I’ve never stopped.”

“Heh, well you never were one to conform to what others saw as ‘normal’.”

She gives a little chuckle. “Yeah, I guess not. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. Get this, you know how Phillip is going to be their ring bearer?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Well, Lila has decided she wants a flower girl too, so she’s going to somehow train Priscilla to walk down the aisle carrying a basket of rose petals.”

“Priscilla? As in the pig we gave them? That Priscilla?”

“Yep.” Helga giggles, that would be her.

“That will be – interesting to say the least.”

“Ha, yeah, my sentiment exactly!”

Staring into her eyes, he can’t help but notice how deep a blue they are in the low light of the bedroom. Feeling that familiar stirring once again deep in his nether regions, he brushes her cheek with the back of his hand. Leaning in he places his lips to hers, gently kissing her. His tongue prods her lips, working its way inside her mouth. Just as the kiss deepens, their son’s voice comes over the baby monitor that sits on the night stand. Breaking the kiss, she can see the disappointment on his face as she starts to move towards the edge of the bed.

“Sorry, Arnoldo, but round two will have to wait.”

He gives her a little pout as she grabs his shirt that has been discarded on the floor. “Hey!” He yells as she slips it on and begins to button it up, “That’s mine. Did I say you can wear it?”

She gives him a little smirk as she leaves the room. “If you want it back you’ll have to take it off me yourself. Besides, didn’t your grandparents ever teach you to share?”

He can’t help but to chuckle at her as he lays back down to wait for her return. He doesn’t wait long before he hears her footsteps approaching the bedroom. His smile turns to a look of concern when he sees her holding a limp Phillip. 

She walks over to the bed and sits down. “His fever is back up. I just gave him a dose of medicine, but I think he’s going to need something a little stronger than baby Advil this time. He needs a doctor and Urgent Care is closed so it looks like I’ll be making a late night trip to the ER.”

Arnold slips around her, getting out of the bed. “Ok, I’ll go with you. You don’t think it’s anything serious do you?”

“I talked to Phoebe earlier and she said with his symptoms it sounded like either an ear infection or strep throat. It was her suggestion that he be seen by a doctor if we couldn’t get the fever to stay down.”

“This is my fault.”

“What? How is this your fault, Arnoldo?”

“Because, I let him play with those other kids at the convention. You said it yourself that the trains I let him play with were full of germs. I should have known better.”

“Arnoldo, the world is full of germs, he could have picked this up anywhere. This is not your fault. Now come on. You need to get dressed if you’re going to come with us.”


	125. Chapter 125

Unhappy with being confined to his car seat, the small Subaru is filled with the shrill descant of Phillip’s wails, as he serenades his parents with a chorus of strained screams, while they make their way to the hospital. With Phillip’s wails grating on his nerves, Arnold lifts his eyes to the rear view mirror to look at Phillip, but his view is obstructed by Helga as she leans over the boy in an effort to comfort him as best she can.

She coos in his ear as he cries. “Aww, it will be okay, Phillip. We’re almost at the hospital where a nice doctor will look at you and hopefully give you something to make you feel all better.”

Looking into his mother’s eyes, Phillip stops crying long enough to let go with a wet sneeze, hitting Helga directly in her face.

“Criminy, Phillip! A little warning would have been nice.”

A chuckle escapes Arnold as he witnesses the event in the mirror. “He’s eight months old, Helga, what did you expect him to do? Say ‘excuse me, mother whilst I let go with a sneeze?’”

Helga rummages through Phillip’s diaper bag in search of a wet wipe. “Hardy har har, Arnoldo. I KNOW he had no way of warning me. It just would have been nice if he could. Sheesh.”

Wiping the offending goo from her nose and cheeks, she balls up the dirty wet wipe, placing it in the side pocket of the diaper bag. “Could you drive any slower, Arnoldo?”

“Hey, I’m already going 20 miles over the speed limit. We do want to get there in one piece you know.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I’m just anxious for Phillip to be taken care of.”

“It’s okay. Look, we’re here now anyway. That didn’t take too long.”

Parking as close to the emergency entrance as he could, Arnold gets out of the car as Helga unstraps Phillip from his seat. Eager to be back in his mother’s arms, Phillip latches onto Helga, holding her shoulders in a death grip while burying his face in her chest as she slips his diaper bag over her shoulder.

Arnold reaches for the diaper bag in an effort to lighten Helga’s load. “Here, let me take that.”

“Thanks, Arnoldo.” Helga says before quickly going back to comforting her child.

Reaching the building, the glass doors spread open before them, beckoning them to cross through the threshold. Bright lights hit them as they step through the doors and into the half full waiting area of the ER. Making their way past the array of waiting patients, they walk up to the reception desk. When they aren’t greeted immediately Helga gives an irritated clearing of her throat, causing the nurse on the other side of the counter to finally look up with a disinterested look.

“Yes, how can I help you?”

Helga starts to open her mouth, but Arnold recognizes her “I will not be ignored” look and steps in, hoping to avoid a scene. “It’s our son. He’s not feeling well and needs to see a doctor.”

The woman’s expression softens as she looks from Arnold to Phillip and with a caring smile hands Arnold a clipboard and pen. “Oh, the poor little fellow. Here, fill this out and return it with your current insurance card and I’ll see what I can do to get him looked at as soon as possible.”

Grateful for the help, Arnold takes the clipboard, giving the nurse a polite “Thank you.”

Helga walks to a row of empty seats, trying to avoid getting too close to the other patients for fear of Phillip catching something even worse than he already has. Once seated, she whispers into Arnold’s ear. “Criminy, we’ve walked into a den of sick-o’s.”

Arnold keeps his voice low as he speaks. “Well what did you think you were going to find in a hospital waiting room at midnight?”

Scanning the room, she nods her head towards a group of what looks to be three, seemingly intoxicated, college aged boys. The crimson and gray of the Washington State Cougars covers their shirtless torsos. The boy in the middle sits bent over, his hands covering his face. His two buddies sit on either side of him, patting him on the back and spouting garbled reassurances that everything is going to be alright. It’s not until the bent over boy straightens up that Helga sees the gravity of his affliction. A large fish hook has somehow caught the guy right through the bridge of his nose, barely missing his eyes. Entering through one side, the bloody barb has worked its way out the other. 

Helga stares in shocked fascination, letting out a low, “How on earth does something like that even happen?”

Sharing in Helga’s dismay, all Arnold can come up with is an equally fascinated, “I have no idea.”

The boy’s name is called, his buddies helping him up, walking him to the waiting nurse. All four of them disappear through the door as a stunned waiting room watches it close behind them. 

Helga slowly shakes her head in disbelief over what she’s just witnessed. “College boys. Were we ever that stupid?”

“Who had time? We were too busy trying to graduate in only four years. Anyway, how’s Phillip doing?”

Bringing her attention back to their son, Helga looks down at him. “He’s fallen back asleep, so I guess we can relax for a bit.”

Arnold fills out the various forms the nurse handed him while they wait. Once finished, he walks back to the registration desk, handing the nurse the paperwork. Scanning the forms, her eyes stop at Helga’s name.

The nurse looks at Arnold as if she’s just come in contact with royalty. “Helga Shortman? As in Arlo’s Adventures, THAT Helga Shortman?”

“Yeah, it is.” Arnold proudly says through a smile.

“We have all her books, my kids love her stories. I can’t believe that’s her. Do you think she’d mind if I took her picture?”

A doubtful look comes over Arnold’s face. “Oh, I don’t know how willing she’ll be to have her picture taken. Not in the state of disarray she’s in. We did kind of rush out of the house in a hurry.”

“Oh, of course, I don’t know what came over me. I’m so sorry, that was pretty unprofessional of me.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure she’ll be flattered to hear that you’re a fan of her work. Tell you what, give me your address and I’ll make sure she sends you an autographed copy of her next book. How’s that?”

“Really? Okay, thanks.” She says as she quickly jots down her name and address on a slip of paper.

Giving her a warm smile, he takes the paper and makes his way back to Helga. 

“That took you long enough, was there something wrong with the paperwork?”

“No, everything was fine.”

“Then what took you so long?”

“I handed the papers back and as she was checking to make sure everything was filled out she recognized your name.”

Helga looks towards the nurse who is now watching her. She gives Helga a large smile and a wave. Helga looks at Arnold with confusion. “I don’t recognize her, am I supposed to know who she is?”

“No, but she definitely knows who you are.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her kids are fans of your books. See, I TOLD you that you were famous. Oh, and I also promised her you’d send her an autographed copy of your next book when it comes out.”

“What? What did you say that for?”

“Because, she’s a fan, she buys your books. You owe it to her.”

“If you say so, Arnoldo.”

Just as Arnold is about to answer, the door to the exam rooms opens and they hear Phillip’s name.

“Phillip Shortman?” A familiar face calls as she scans the room.

Seeing who it is, Helga smiles as she heads towards the door. “Sheena! I didn’t know you’d be working tonight.”

“Yeah, I got called in to cover a buddy’s shift tonight. I’m sorry Phillip’s not feeling well. Lets’ get him to a bed and get him looked at.” 

The room they are in is sectioned off with multiple areas, each one consisting of a bed, side table, and a couple of chairs. There is also a small counter with drawers and cabinets and a small sink for scrubbing up. In back of the bed are various monitors and other medical equipment, for any serious emergencies. Each area is surrounded by curtains in an effort to provide the patients with privacy as they are being examined. 

As they follow Sheena, Helga slows down to peer through an opening in one of the curtains. She gives a little wince at the sight of an intern as he cuts off the barbed end of the fish hook that sticks out of the college student’s nose before gently releasing the rest of it from the boy’s flesh. 

“Criminy!” She thinks to herself as she quickly catches up to the others.

Once in their own sectioned off area, Helga sits on the bed, still holding a sleeping Phillip close to her chest. Sheena is gentle as she takes the boy’s vitals. “So how long has he had this fever?”

Helga kisses the top of Phillip’s head before answering. “He woke up this morning with it. We’ve had him on baby Advil all day but it really shot up this evening. I discussed his symptoms with Phoebe and she said it sounded like either an ear infection or strep, and suggested that we get him looked at.”

“Yes, there’s a lot of stuff going around lately, and if it is strep, you’ll definitely want to start him on a course of antibiotics as soon as possible. So, how have you guys been? I haven’t talked to you since your vow renewal.”

“Well, other than Phillip getting sick I’d say it’s just been the same old same old. Not much changes around here.”

Sheena gives Arnold’s hair a good look. “Oh, I’d say something’s changed. What’s with the dye job if I may ask?”

Arnold casts his eyes to the floor as an embarrassed flush colors his cheeks. “Oh, there was an unfortunate mix up with some dye is all. Helga wanted to dye my hair for a comic convention we went to and grabbed the permanent dye by accident.”

“I see. Well, I kind of like it, you look good as a brunette.” 

“See, Arnoldo.” Helga says, giving him a smile. “I told you it looked good on you.”

“Yeah, well, I still don’t know what to do about the wedding. I really don’t want to be captured for all of time with dyed hair in Stinky and Lila’s wedding pictures.”

As Sheena finishes taking the last of Phillip’s vitals, she offers a suggestion to Arnold. “I may be able to help you there, I have a cousin that just received her cosmetology license, and her specialty is in coloring hair. I can set up an appointment with her if you’d like, I’m sure she’d be happy to help.”

Helga furrows her brows at the offer. “I don’t know, Sheena, how much experience does she have? I’m not sure if Arnold wants to trust his hair to someone fresh out of beauty school.”

Arnold gives a little huff. “Why not, what’s the worst that can happen? At least she has training.” He gives Helga a side glare. “Not like the last person I let mess with my hair.”

“Listen, Arnoldo, I said I was sorry, and you know I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Seeing that she’s hit a nerve, Sheena makes a quick exit. “Well, I think I have all the information I need, I’ll just let the two of you continue on with your conversation. I’ll see what I can do to get a doctor as quickly as possible.”

The couple turns their attention back to Sheena as she disappears through the closed curtain.

“See what you did, Arnoldo, you scared her off.”

“Me? I didn’t chase her off.”

Their discussion is put on hold when Phillip starts fidgeting in Helga’s arms. Opening his eyes, he looks up, giving his mother a big smile. Pushing away from her chest, he places his hands on her cheeks and lets out a happy “Mama!” Bringing a smile to his parent’s faces.

“Well,” Helga says as she looks up at Arnold. “I guess the Advil has finally kicked in. He’s seems to be in pretty good spirits for the time being.”

“Do you think we’ve jumped the gun by bringing him in and not waiting until the morning?”

“No, why put off the inevitable. It’s obvious that there’s something wrong with him. By bringing him in now, we can get a jump start if he’s put on antibiotics.”

Their conversation is interrupted by a series of whoops and hollers from the other side of the curtain. Arnold walks up to the curtains that cut them off from the other examining areas. He moves the curtain aside just enough for them to get a glimpse of the three college boys as they make their way towards the exit. 

The injured boy is paraded through the ER, his nose, sans fish hook, now sports a large bandage. He has a glazed look in his eyes from the pain medications the doctor gave him, and wears a large, albeit embarrassed, grin on his face. His two buddies flank him on either side as they pat him on his back, laughing the whole time while making statements as to what an “epic” night this has turned out to be. 

Shaking his head and giving a soft chuckle, Arnold closes the curtain and turns back to look at Phillip and Helga once again. He points his thumb over his shoulder as he walks back to the bed. “Well THAT’S certainly one for the books.”

“Heh, yeah. That’s a story that that poor fellow is never going to be able to live down.”

Arnold sits next to Helga on the bed with Phillip content to sit between them, his fingers playing with a loose thread that hangs from the bed’s blanket. Helga rests the back of her hand to the boy’s forehead and looks at Arnold. “He may be feeling better, but he’s still a little warm. I wonder how much longer we’re going to have to wait.”

At the touch of his mother’s hand on his forehead, Phillip looks up at her, giving her the Shortman, half-lidded smile before screwing up his face and letting out with another wet sneeze. This one sprays across Helga’s hand and chest, causing her to jump off the bed.

“Criminy, not again!” She yells as she walks over to the small sink, giving her hands a thorough scrub. She then covers them in hand sanitizer in hopes of fully annihilating any trace of stray germs. “It will be a miracle if I come out of this without catching what he’s got.”

Once she feels she’s sufficiently germ free, she rejoins Phillip and Arnold on the bed. Not too long afterwards the familiar voice of Sheena can be heard on the other side of the curtain.

“Here’s your next patient, Doctor. Its little Phillip Shortman. He’s here for a high fever.”

Eager to finally get some answers towards Phillip’s condition, the relieved parent’s get up from the bed as the newest arrival walks up to them. “Good evening, I’m Dr. Martin, I’ll be taking care of your son tonight.”

Arnold extends a hand to the good doctor in greeting. “Hi, I’m Arnold Shortman, Phillip’s dad, and this is his mother, Helga.”

“Hi-ya, Doc.” Helga gives the man a quick, two fingered salute as she takes in the person who is about to examine her son. He looks to be no more than eight to ten years older than her and Arnold. His fair skin and blonde hair giving him an almost “Doogie Howser” type of look. His bloodshot eyes show the wear of a man that has worked a few hours too many and is running on fumes. She hopes that his exhaustion won’t hinder his judgement when diagnosing her son.

Grabbing the wheeled stool that sits by the foot of the bed, Dr. Martin pushes it towards the bed and sits down in front of Phillip. The boy is leery at first, but warms up quickly when the good doctor pulls out a small stuffed teddy bear from the pocket of his scrubs. The bear is dressed in a small doctor’s jacket and has a toy stethoscope attached to its neck.

Holding the bear up, the doctor speaks in a high pitched voice. “Hi there, Phillip. I’m Buddy Bear and I’m going to be your doctor tonight. The first thing I want to do is listen to your heart.”

Phillip lets out with a chorus of giggles at the silly bear, not even noticing that the real doctor has placed a stethoscope to his chest. Reaching around the child, Dr. Martin places the stethoscope to his back in an effort to listen to the boy’s lungs. Satisfied with what he hears, he replaces the stethoscope with an otoscope, continuing on with the examination. 

It all goes well until it is time to check Phillip’s throat. Pulling out a tongue depressor, he places it to Phillip’s lips. The action causes the boy to tightly clamp his mouth shut while shaking his head no. The doctor is calm as he speaks. “It’s okay, Phillip. I just need to look down your throat. I promise, it won’t hurt you.”

Phillip is steadfast in his refusal to open his mouth and Helga steps in to help. “Come on, Phillip, open your mouth for the nice doctor.”

Phillip tries to make a break for it by twisting his body away from them but his efforts are thwarted when Helga tightens her grip on him. Furious over his mother’s blatant betrayal as she joins sides with the evil doctor, Phillip lets out with an impressive scream that can be heard all the way out to the waiting room. With the boy’s mouth fully open, Dr. Martin seizes the opportunity and quickly holds the boy’s tongue down with the depressor as he shines his light into the darkened cavity. Not liking what he sees, he has Sheena hand him a long thin stick with a cotton swab at the end of it. Giving it a thorough swirl around Phillip’s throat, he hands the swab back to Sheena who then places it into a specimen jar.

Once done, Helga loosens her grip on her son. The boy whimpers as he shoots her a death stare through narrowed eyes. He garbles something under his breath and Helga isn’t sure, but swears that she’s just been told what she and the doctor can do with their precious tongue depressor. 

Dr. Martin gets up, and after giving his hands a good washing, is ready with his diagnosis. “I’m having Sheena run a quick test on the samples I took from Phillip’s throat, but I’m pretty sure what we’re dealing with is strep. Strep can be serious if left untreated, so it was a good decision on your part to not wait, and to bring him in tonight. I’m going to send you home with a prescription for some antibiotics. We’ll give him his first dose here, then starting in the morning, you’ll need to make sure he gets a dose three times a day for the next seven days, along with the baby Advil as needed for pain. His fever should break within the next 24 hours. You’ll want to be sure to take him for a follow-up appointment with his regular doctor at the end of the seven days. If you have any questions you can either call the hospital or Phillip’s regular doctor.”

After saying his good-byes to Arnold and Helga, Dr. Martin gives Phillip a pat on his small back. “Thank you Phillip, for being such a good patient.”

Unwilling to forgive the doctor so quickly, Phillip leans into his mother’s chest, giving the doctor a hard stare. That is, until the doctor holds out Buddy Bear for Phillip to take. “Here you go, Phillip. Buddy Bear told me he wants to go home with you.”

Figuring that the doctor was, after all, only doing his job, Phillip decides to forgive him after all, and reaches for the bear, clutching it to his chest. 

They catch Sheena as they leave the hospital, thanking her for her help, telling her that they are looking forward to seeing her again at Lila’s wedding. Soon after that Phillip is fast asleep in his car seat as they make their way back to the boarding house.

xxxxx

With Phillip tucked snugly away in his crib, Helga walks into their darkened bedroom. The room is dimly lit by the pale moon that hangs outside their window. The digital numbers on the bedside clock glow a bright red, proudly heralding in the third hour of the day. She slides into bed, laying quietly, not wanting to disturb her husband. Closing her eyes she takes a deep breath in, allowing her tired muscles to loosen as she slowly lets it out. Closing her eyes, her head grows hazy as she begins to drift off. The silence of the night is broken by the sound of her husband’s voice.

“You know, my little Butterfly, Don’t think I’ve forgotten where we left off earlier.”

With a chuckle and a shake of her head, Helga rolls to her side so her back is facing Arnold. “Criminy. Just, say good night, Arnold.”

He gives a little smirk as he speaks. “Good night - Arnold.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you familiar with BBC programing, yes, I did intentionally name Phillip’s doctor Doctor - “Doc” - Martin. ;) A show with which I, of course, claim no rights. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should look the show up, it’s quite funny.


	126. Chapter 126

Arnold is pulled from a dreamless sleep when he hears a stirring come through the baby monitor that sits on the night table on Helga’s side of the bed. Turing towards the window, he notices the sun as it shines brightly through the glass. Propping himself up, he checks the alarm clock and sees that it is already 10 am and at first panics that he is late for his first day of the summer session. Realizing that it is still only Sunday, he takes a deep breath before reaching over Helga to turn off the monitor before it wakes her up. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he hangs his feet over the side of the bed, sliding them into a pair of worn slippers. Quietly shuffling out of the bedroom, he enters the nursery where he finds a concerned Agnes sitting sentinel by Phillip’s crib. 

Bending down, Arnold pats her on her head. “Aw, Agnes, you’re worried about our Philly Boy, aren’t you.”

Agnes gives him a soft grunt in reply as she looks at him, then turns her attention back to Phillip’s crib.

Straightening back up, Arnold looks into the crib to see a sleepy faced Phillip gazing back up at him. Reaching down, he places his hand on the boy’s forehead, feeling the warmth that still emanates off of him. “Still got that darn fever, huh Philly boy?”

Phillip reaches his arms out to his father, smiling as he’s picked up. After a quick diaper change, the two, plus Agnes, make their way downstairs. Placing Phillip in his highchair, he pulls the bottle of antibiotics out of the refrigerator. Looking at the pink liquid, he gives it a good shake before measuring out the required dosage into a dropper. He gives the bottle a sniff before replacing it back into the fridge. The first thing that hits his senses is the undeniable scent of bubblegum, with a hint of medicine hiding beneath it, and he is thrown back in time to when he was just a small child himself. He remembers his grandmother’s face as she’d bend down over him, holding out a spoon, filled with the same pink liquid he now holds in his own hand. “Well, Phillip, I hope this tastes as sweet as I remember it.”

He holds the dropper to Phillips lips. The boy is reluctant at first to try the strange brew, but after giving it a good sniff, he opens his mouth. Without hesitation, Arnold squirts the antibiotics onto his son’s tongue, bracing himself in case Phillip decides to spit it back out. He is relieved when, instead, the boy swallows it down with a smile and a smack of his lips. 

“Well now, that wasn’t so bad, was it Phillip? Are you hungry? How about your daddy makes you some nice scrambled eggs? Would you like that?”

Kicking his feet, Phillip gives a happy “Da!” as he bangs his hands on the highchair’s tray. Arnold hands him a bottle of milk to keep him busy as he cooks the eggs. Thinking that it probably won’t be long before Helga is up herself, he decides to throw some bacon in a pan and get it to cooking too.

xxxxx

It doesn’t take long for the smells of breakfast to make their way upstairs, causing Helga’s stomach to give a rumble, waking her up. She slowly opens her eyes, throwing an arm over them to block out the offending sun that now shines even brighter through their window. Turning to look at the clock she realizes how late it is and quickly sits up. Noticing the empty spot next to her, she reaches over to feel the mattress. The coolness of the sheets under her fingers lets her know that it’s been some time since Arnold was last in bed. So, putting on her robe and slippers, she leaves the bedroom. She stops to check the nursery before following her nose downstairs to where her husband and son sit, filling their mouths with freshly cooked eggs.

“Criminy, I’m starving and that smells delicious.”

“Helga, you’re up! Help yourself to the eggs and bacon, I’ve made plenty.”

She makes a stop at the coffee pot before filling a plate with the still warm food. Shuffling over to the table, she gives her men a kiss each on their foreheads before finally joining them. “You’re too good to me.” She says as she fills her mouth with eggs. “How long have you been up?”

“Oh, not long really, just long enough to give Phillip his medicine and make breakfast.”

“Ohhh, how did the medicine go? Did he give you any trouble?”

“Nope, not at all. He swallowed it right down. You know, its funny, I remember having to take the same medicine as Phillip as a kid whenever I was sick. I’m surprised they still prescribe that stuff.”

“Well, if it works, and the kids take it, why change things. Mmmm, I swear, you make the best coffee. But really, though, why didn’t you wake me? I would have helped you.”

“Eh, you were sleeping so peacefully, I really didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Yeah, but you start class tomorrow, this was your last morning to sleep in and we were up awfully late last night.”

“Its okay, I’m actually not so tired anymore.”

“So, you got anything planned before your first day of class, or are you just going to hang loose here and relax?”

Arnold is planning on giving Sheena a call to see if she could, perhaps, set him up with her hair stylist cousin this afternoon, but he’s hesitant to tell Helga. So he just gives her a vague answer instead. “Well, I do have a couple of last minute things to get done before tomorrow. So I’ll probably get those out of the way then come back home and spend the rest of the day relaxing.”

“Oh yeah? What kind of things?”

Not expecting the question, Arnold fumbles to come up with something before Helga becomes suspicious. “Um, well, uh, I need a couple of fresh notebooks for notes, and, uh, I may look for a couple of short sleeved shirts at Budnick’s. You know, with the warmer weather and shoddy air conditioning at the high school, I don’t want to overheat.”

Helga gives his statement a moment’s thought. “Yeah, I guess I can see that.”

Relieved that she believes him, he quickly changes the subject before she can give it further thought. “So, I guess you and Phillip will just hang out here?”

“Well, yeah. We can’t have him spreading strep throat all over Hillwood. Besides, I think he and I both still need to recover from last night.”

Finishing the last of his eggs, Arnold takes his dirty dishes to the sink. “Um, if you don’t mind washing these for me, I’m going to jump in the shower before I head out.”

“No problem, I’ll get to them when I’m finished eating.”

He gives her a quick kiss, and stops to give Phillip a pat on his head on his way out of the kitchen. Once upstairs in the bathroom, he turns on the shower in an effort to muffle his conversation. Dialing Sheena, he talks to her in a lowered voice. “Hello, Sheena? Yeah, Its Arnold. About that cousin of yours………..”

xxxxx

Phillip lays in his crib with his eyes closed. He fidgets, tossing back and forth, sticking his bottom lip out in a pout every time he swallows. His hand comes up to tug on his ear in hopes it will lessen the pain in his throat. Because of his fever, he vacillates between hot and cold, and has a hard time getting comfortable. He wonders how he ended up where he is, since the last thing he remembers is being held close to his mommy’s chest as she sang softly in his ear. 

Finally opening his eyes, the first thing he sees is Buddy Bear smiling at him from across the crib. He rolls onto his stomach, grabbing the bear before returning to his back. He talks to Buddy in his special Phillip language, asking him to make the pain stop, but the bear doesn’t answer. The milk he drank at breakfast sits curdled in his stomach, unwilling to be digested. He starts to whimper when he feels his stomach start to churn, little bubbles of gas escaping up his esophagus, only to be set free each time the boy burps. The curdled milk begins to follow the bubbles, and Phillip knows something is about to happen. Something big. Not knowing what else to do, he screams for his mommy for he knows, that if anyone can make him all better it is HER. Yes, he needs her and he needs her NOW. Without any further hesitation he calls, no, demands for her to come to him, and relieve him of this feeling. 

He stops his crying when he hears the door to his nursery open. The familiar sound of his mother’s voice immediately tempering his agitated state for he knows that help has finally arrived, and that soon things will, indeed, be all better.

xxxxx

Helga sits stretched out in Arnold’s recliner as she talks to Phoebe over the speaker of her cell phone. Her end of the baby monitor sitting quietly on the coffee table. The events of last night catching up to her, leaving her in a state of exhaustion. The coffee she’d had this morning had worked for a little while, but she could tell that it was time to recharge, so she gets up to put on a fresh pot of the life sustaining black nectar that will help her make it through the rest of the day. Picking up the baby monitor, she continues to talk as she makes her way to the kitchen.

“Yep, you were spot on, Pheebs. It turned out to be strep after all. I’m glad we took your advice and went to the hospital, even if it was the middle of the night.”

“I’m glad to have been of help, Helga. I’m certain Phillip will be back to his old self before you know it. So, how did the fitting go with Lila?”

“Not bad, her mother’s dress is really pretty. Old fashioned but in a timeless sort of way. It fits Lila’s personality to a tee. You’ll be back in Hillwood way before the wedding, right?”

“Oh, yes. The semester finishes up this week. I’ve already informed my roommates that I have decided to head home for the rest of the summer break. I’m very excited for the trip.”

Helga gives a little smirk. “I bet you are. I also bet Gerald is just as excited for you to be back.”

Even though she can’t see the blush, Helga knows that Phoebe’s cheeks must be beet red as she replies. “Yes, he’s been telling me over and over again how he can’t wait to see me.”

“Well, as soon as you’re back and settled in we’ll have to get the gang together for a welcome home party or something. We can throw it on the roof top of the boarding house, maybe combine it with Lila and Stinky’s wedding shower. It’ll be fun.”

“Yes, I think that would be an excellent idea. I’ve really missed everyone.”

“So where will you be staying, with Gerald, or your parents?”

“I have to say, as much as I love my parents, I believe I shall be staying with Gerald for the few weeks I’ll be in Hillwood.”

“How’s your dad taking it?”

“Well, he really has no choice but to be okay with it. After all, I’m not his little girl anymore, I’m a grown woman.”

Helga gives a chuckle. “Phoebe, you’ll ALWAYS be his little girl.”

Helga can hear Phoebe’s sigh as she lets it out. “I know, and I do love him. I just wish he wasn’t so darned old fashioned.”

The coffee pot beeps, alerting Helga that it has come to the end of its brewing cycle. Her mouth salivates as she fills her mug. “Eh, I’m sure if you set aside some time just for your parent’s while you’re here it will all work out fine. 

Helga raises the coffee mug to her lips, and just as she is about to take her first sip, Phillip’s wails can be heard coming over the monitor. “Hey, I hate to cut this short, but Phillip’s woken up and he doesn’t sound happy. Thanks again for your help, I’ll call you before you head back home.”

“Okay, Helga, and you’re welcome.”

Hitting the end button on her cell, Helga takes a quick sip of her coffee before placing the mug onto the countertop. Shoving the phone in her pocket, she yells as she rushes upstairs. “Keep your shirt on, Phillip, mommy will be there in a second.”

xxxxx

Rolling onto his stomach, Phillip crawls to the side of his crib and uses it to pull himself up to a standing position. His head gives a momentary spin, agitating him even further. The bubbles in his stomach have grown stronger, making his cries for help even more urgent. The unfamiliar feeling that is brewing within him distresses him and he really wishes his mommy would hurry and save him. 

Unable to be of any help, Agnes runs in circles in front of the crib, her squeals mixing with Phillip’s yells. Helga’s footsteps grow louder as she approaches the room. Throwing the door open, her mommy senses kick into gear and her eyes go into surveillance mode as she enters the room. 

The first thing she sees is her son, standing as he holds onto the railing of the crib. His face so badly contorted he is almost unrecognizable. She looks into his eyes and it is as if Beelzebub himself stares back at her. She can sense the demon within fighting to break free of the boy and hopes that she can reach him in time before all hope is lost.

She knows its just her mind playing tricks on her but for a split second she swears that she sees Buddy Bear hanging levitated in mid-air, his beady black eyes mocking her. She closes her eyes tight and when she reopens them the bear is no longer free floating but hanging from Phillip’s tightly gripped fist as he holds it over the crib’s rail.

Her approach is blocked by a frantic pig as it runs donuts in the middle of the room. Somehow Helga is able to make it to her son, but not before she hears a sound that makes her heart stop cold in her chest. Its as if the world now moves in slow motion as Phillip raises his green eyes to meet hers. He sticks his bottom lip out in a momentary pout before opening his mouth. Helga lets out with a long, drawn out “NOOOOOOOO!” But it is too late. In an instant the boy erupts from both ends, the curdled milk that has been fermenting in his stomach splashing off her chest in a hot, gooey tidal wave. Whole bits of undigested egg stick to the soft material of her T-shirt like stucco on a wall. 

With his diaper pushed beyond its limits, a brown ring begins to form at the waistline and leg holes, growing ever bigger as the material of his onesie absorbs the offending sludge. Helga stands frozen as she looks down at herself. The smell that rises up from her causing her gag reflex to go into hyper drive. The pig that moments before was sounding the warning alarm hightails it out the door. She disappears into the hallway, not to be seen again for two full days. 

Coming back to her senses, Helga grabs her crying child, holding him close. She rocks him back and forth as she tries to figure out her next course of action. 

“Its okay, Phillip. Everything is going to be okay. Mommy is here now.” She says as she soothes him with the timeless bounce and rock that comes instinctively to all mothers.

Phillip’s low whimpers pick up in volume when wave two begins to wash over him. With his head hanging over his mother’s shoulder, Mt. Shortman erupts for second time, causing a river of chunky lava to slowly ooze down her back. 

A fuse blows in Helga’s brain and she stands momentarily stunned. The books that she and Arnold poured over in anticipation of their first born child did little to prepare her for a situation such as this. She takes in a deep, cleansing breath but the stench that hits her nose does the complete opposite and sets her gag reflex into motion once again. 

“Ohhh, no, no, no Helga old girl, keep it together. You can handle this.” She says out loud as she does her best to calm herself.

With his stomach finally empty, Phillip rests his head on his mother’s chest. His little whimpers finally bringing Helga back to reality. “Oh, my poor baby.” She coos into the boy’s ear. “It’s okay, mommy’s got you now. How about we get you all cleaned up, how does that sound?”

With his head still resting on her chest, Phillip responds with a muffled “Mama.” 

Stepping over the slowly coagulating puddle of goo, mother and son make their way to the bathroom where Helga strips them both down before stepping into a nice, hot shower. Grabbing the hand held shower head, she first sprays Phillip down, making sure to wash away every last bit. She does her best to spray herself down while still holding her child, and, once done, sprays down the tub before replacing the shower head into its holder.

She begins filling the tub with warm water, adding a bit of baby wash to the water. Phillip eyes the bubbles that begin to form, pointing towards them with a happy “Dat.”

Helga lets out a little chuckle. “You want that, Phillip?”

Phillip smiles at her then points back to the ever growing bubbles. “Dat!”

She sits down in the tub, placing Phillip between her legs. Once the water has reached the proper depth, she shuts it off and leans back, watching her son as he plays with the bubbles. She allows them both time to relax before worrying about the mess that still waits for her once they’re done.

xxxxx

Arnold pulls into the driveway of the boarding house. He looks at himself one more time in the rear view mirror, running his fingers through his hair. Taking a deep breath, he gathers his courage and gets out of the car. He enters the house through the kitchen door, noticing how quiet things are. He figures it must be nap time and does his best to be as quiet as he can. He sees the full mug of coffee that now sits cold on the countertop. “That’s strange.” He thinks to himself as he leaves the kitchen. He gives a quick peek into the family room and finds it empty, lending further credit to his thought of it being nap time. 

He makes his way upstairs and the first thing he does is check the nursery. He opens the door and the smell that still hangs in the air hits him like a ton of bricks. Holding his nose he ventures further into the room. He stands in disbelief at the mess before him, letting out with a low, “Oh my God.” The smell begins to become too much for him and he turns with a retch, quickly exiting the room. 

He stands bent over in the hallway, his hands planted firmly to his knees as he breathes deeply. He notices a light that shines through the cracked door of the bathroom and slowly approaches it. Pushing the door open, he sees a discarded pile of soiled clothing. He walks over to the tub and sees his son happily playing while his wife sits exhausted and watches. Giving his head a slow shake, he finally speaks. “Helga, what happened?”

She looks up at her husband with a dazed expression before her eyes grow wide in shock. “Arnold!” She loudly exclaims, “What happened to your hair!”


	127. Chapter 127

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You’re probably going to ask about this so I’m just going to set things straight right off the bat. No, this is NOT going to be another Amanda situation. There will be no “Other Woman” jazz going on. With that said, I hope you enjoy the ride……….

Arnold stops his pacing long enough to look Helga in the eye. “I’m telling you, its blonde!”

“And I’m telling you, what sits on top of that dense head of yours is yellow. THIS,” She grabs a handful of her hair, holding it out to him. “THIS, is blonde.”

Not willing to admit defeat, Arnold waves her off. “Oh, what do you know anyway? You’re a writer, not an artist. What do you know about color?”

“I may not be able to spout off every color in the spectrum, but I can name every color in a 64 pack of Crayola Crayons and THAT,” she jabs a finger towards his hair, “is Dandelion Yellow! Good grief, Arnoldo, I swear, it’s like you scalped Big Bird and are wearing his feathers as a hat.”

Her comment cuts him to the quick. Finally giving up the fight, Arnold sits down on the couch. He tilts his gaze up to her, a look of defeat on his face. “Is it really that bad?”

She hadn’t meant to hurt Arnold’s feelings, and looks at his saddened face with remorse. “No, not really. I’m sorry, Arnold. I guess I overreacted, it’s not THAT bad.”

“But it’s bad.”

“No, let’s just say it’s – different. Besides, people dye their hair all sorts of crazy colors now a days. You can just say you did it on a whim, or that you lost a bet or something.” She sits down next to him and rubs his shoulders as she tries to lighten the mood. “I even bet the kids will look at you as the cool teacher now. You know, someone hip enough to keep up with the times.”

He gives her a side glance. “Hip enough? Or do I look like an old fart trying to hold on to his youth?”

“Heh, you’re not old enough to be considered an old fart, despite the type of music you like to listen to. In all honesty, I do think that showing up tomorrow with this hair will be less of a shock than the brown.”

He heaves a sigh as he gets up. “If you say so, Helga.” 

Helga watches him as he starts to leave the family room. “Where are you going?”

“To the grocery store to rent one of those heavy duty carpet cleaners. That puddle in Phillip’s room isn’t going to clean up by itself, and since you dealt with Phillip the least I can do is tackle the rug.”

She gets up and walks over to him, stopping him in the doorway. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she gives him a kiss. “You’re something else, you know that Arnold?”

He smiles, kissing her forehead. “And don’t you forget it. I’ll see ya when I get back, it shouldn’t take too long.”

Giving her husband another quick kiss, she turns her attention to Phillip who lays quietly on a blanket that’s been spread out on the floor. Picking him up she carries him to Arnold’s favorite chair and reclines it back, laying Phillip on her chest. She strokes the boy’s soft hair while humming his favorite lullaby. As the boy slowly drifts off to sleep she longingly remembers the now cold mug of coffee that sits on the kitchen counter.

xxxxx

With only a handful of classes being held over the summer, the teacher’s lounge is particularly quiet, especially for a Monday. Arnold adds a second packet of sugar to his coffee before adding a healthy amount of non-dairy creamer. Gerald shakes his head at his friend while he watches. “Mmm-mmm-mm, Arnold. Have a little coffee with that cream and sugar.”

“What? This is how I always have my coffee.”

“Yeah, and one day all that sugar is going to catch up with you.”

“Heh, now you’re sounding like Helga. She’s always on me for using too much sugar. As if those flavored latte’s she’s so fond of getting aren’t loaded with sugar. Not to mention her addiction to junk food.”

Gerald gives a little chuckle. “Yeah, that woman sure does love her snacks, doesn’t she? I thought she cleaned up her act when she was pregnant with Phillip.”

“She did, for a while, but she’s slowly getting back into her old habits. Whenever I say anything about it she goes off on how much work it is taking care of Phillip and how she needs to keep her strength up.”

Gerald raises an eyebrow at him. “By eating pork rinds and Ho-Ho’s?” 

Arnold lets out a laugh. “Right! God forbid she put a piece of fruit in her mouth. Honestly, her eating habits are just as bad as when she was a kid. Although, at least she cooks now, so meals are pretty healthy. She’s just someone who loves her snacks.”

Not knowing if he should mention Arnold’s hair or not, Gerald figures what good is having a best friend if you can’t tease him every once in a while, so he decides to broach the subject. “So, I see you’ve decided to do something about your hair.”

A flush spreads across Arnold’s cheeks as he self-consciously runs a hand through his Technicolor locks. “Uh, yeah, I guess I did. I feel it’s much less noticeable then the brown was, don’t you think?”

“Oh, sure. Canary yellow is definitely much better.”

Arnold winces at Gerald’s statement. “It’s supposed to be ‘Summer Blonde’, or at least that’s what Sheena’s cousin said the name of the color was.”

“So what did Helga have to say about it?”

“She said it looked like Big Bird was sitting on my head.”

Arnold’s comment catches Gerald off guard, causing a spray of coffee to burst out from his mouth, blasting everything in front of him in a fine mist, including Arnold. Grabbing a napkin he wipes up his mouth and chin as he laughs hysterically. “Oh, man, I’m sorry Arnold but that was just too much. Big Bird, huh, that’s golden.”

“Go ahead and laugh.” Arnold says as he does his best to wipe down his shirt. “I’m sure you won’t be the last.”

The two men are so engrossed in their conversation that they don’t hear the door to the teacher’s lounge being opened. It’s not until the new arrivals start walking towards them that Gerald finally looks up to see Principal Dunn walking up to them with someone he doesn’t recognize at his side.

Gerald eyes the newcomer that stands with Dunn. “Oh, uh, Principal Dunn, good morning.”

Principal Dunn can’t help but to stare at Arnold’s hair. “Good morning Mr. Johanssen, Mr. Shortman. I hope you both are having a good start to your summer. There’s someone I would like you two to meet. Ms Jacqueline Wright, this is Mr. Johanssen, he teaches history here at Hillwood High.”

“Hi ya Gerald, and it’s Jackie.” Ms Wright says with a smile as she reaches out to shake Gerald’s hand.”

Gerald notices the woman’s blue hair, and opts to keep any comments he may have to himself. “Yeah, hello, Jackie. Welcome to Hillwood High.”

Dunn directs his attention towards Arnold now. “And this is Mr. Shortman, he’s the school’s guidance counselor.”

The newcomer eyes Arnold with particular interest, a huge smile forming on her face when she finally recognizes him. “Marco!” She lets out with a yell, “I almost didn’t recognize you with your yellow hair.”

Arnold stops cleaning his shirt in mid wipe, his eyes growing wide at hearing the name “Marco”. He slowly turns to face the newcomer, his worst fears becoming imagined. “It – it’s you!”

Gerald gives his friend a confused look. “Do you two know each other?”

“Yep!” Jackie happily replies. “We met at Seattlecon.” She turns to look at Arnold once again. “Wow, what are the odds that we’d meet up again?”

It feels like a rock has settled in the pit of Arnold’s stomach as he tries his best to be cordial. “Yeah, it’s a small world alright. So your name really IS Jackie.”

“Yep, didn’t I say so at the convention?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess you did. I didn’t know you lived in Hillwood.”

“Oh, I just moved into town a couple of days ago. I’ve been searching for a teaching job for months, and when I saw that Hillwood High was looking for someone to teach creative writing, well, I jumped on it.” She gives Arnold a big smile. “And what a coincidence that I’d land a position at the same school as Marco Diaz.”

Wishing she would stop calling him Marco, Arnold does his best to correct her. “Arnold, the name is Arnold.”

“Oh, okay, Arnold.”

Both Dunn and Gerald stand listening to the conversation in equal confusion. After a few moments, Dunn finally speaks up. “Yes, well, this is all very interesting, but I have a bit more of the school to show Ms Wright before classes begin. Glad to have you both back for the summer.” 

Dunn gently takes Jackie by her elbow, escorting her out of the teacher’s lounge. Wanting some answers to the many questions the strange encounter has brought up, Gerald looks at his friend. “Would you care to fill me in now on just what the hell that was all about?”

Arnold shakes his head at Gerald in disbelief. “It’s her. That was her, Gerald.”

“’Her’ who?”

“Rabid Fangirl. From the convention. That’s the girl that kept following me all around the convention center.”

“That was her? Oh boy, Arnold, how is it you always get yourself in these situations?”

“I have no idea. You don’t think she’s been stalking me and has traced me to Hillwood, do you?”

“Naw, that kind of stuff only happens in movies and TV shows. I’m sure it’s just an odd coincidence like she said. What do you think Helga’s going to say when you tell her Rabid Fangirl is the newest teacher at Hillwood High?”

“Oh, brother, Helga! She’s probably going to freak. Listen, Gerald, you can’t say anything to her or Phoebe. Let me be the one to tell her.”

“If you say so, Arnold. There is one thing I will say though.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m sure as Hell glad it’s you and not me.”

“Gee, thanks, way to be supportive.”

Gerald gives Arnold a pat on his back as he leaves the lounge. “Hey, that’s what friends are for. I’ll see ya, Arnold. Good luck with your class.”

Arnold waves as Gerald leaves the room. “Yeah, you too.”

Grabbing his briefcase, Arnold heads out the door, thinking to himself as he slowly walks to class, “This is going to be a loooong summer.”

xxxxx

Blake gets out of Charles’s car and the two boys walk towards the school. Stopping at the steps that lead to the entrance, the building looms over them and he gives an involuntary shudder. He hesitates before stepping inside and thinks about the past events that have led him to this moment. He’d had originally planned on spending the summer hanging out at the lake with his friends, just goofing off and seeing which girls he’d be lucky enough to score with. But now, now he was stuck here, wasting his well-deserved free time sitting in a classroom listening to the school counselor drone on and on about career paths and opportunities. 

None of that stuff mattered when your future was already planned out for you. Every moment of your life carefully orchestrated down to the very last detail. As family tradition dictated, he was to be a lawyer like his father, and his father before him and so on down the line. He would marry someone from only the finest of families, and have only the best and brightest children. 

Of course, it’s his own fault that he’s here, and as much as he’d like to, there’s really no one else to blame. After all, HE was the one that decided to start drinking that night, and HE made the decision to get in the car and start driving, and HE was the one that plowed through the stop sign. So here he stands now, having to make up the credits he missed during his suspension, while his friends are off enjoying their summer.

Charles reaches the door to the school and stops to look back at Blake. “So, you going to stand there all morning or what?”

Blake gives his head a shake to clear it. “Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on. I’m coming.”

To say the boys have become friends could be a bit of an exaggeration, but with Tonya’s needling, they can now at least look at each other without contention in their eyes. Plus, as time goes by, they find themselves being able to be around each other for longer periods of time with neither of them wanting to kill the other.

When Tonya found out that they both would be taking Arnold’s class in an effort to make up their lost credits, she immediately started working on Charles, slowly persuading him to offer to drive Blake to and from school. Before he knew what hit him, Charles had made the offer, with Blake reluctantly agreeing. Tonya even got Charles to offer to drop Blake off at the hospital after class so he could continue on with the community service that was ordered of him after the accident.

Tonya’s scheming did not go unnoticed by Blake, however, and as much as he hates the fact that she was able to play him like a fiddle, he is appreciative that she cares enough about him to even bother. He looks at Charles now as they enter the school.

Charles wonders just what the heck Blake is staring at him for and checks himself for anything out of place. “What the hell are you staring at?”

Not realizing that he was staring, Blake quickly looks straight ahead. “I wasn’t staring. Why the hell would I want to look at you anyway?”

“Whatever, dude.” 

Their footsteps echo down the near empty hallway as they make their way to class. As they pass their old lockers Charles smiles at the memory of filling Tonya’s with all those balloons, back when he was trying to prove just how romantic he can be. It was a lot of work, but the effort paid off and he can’t imagine being any happier than he is right now, despite having to spend the better part of his summer schlepping Blake Hadley to and from class.

Finally reaching their destination, Blake takes a deep breath in before entering the classroom. The first thing he notices is Mr. Shortman sitting at his desk in the front of the room. Nudging Charles in his ribs, he half whispers, half laughs in his ear. “Get a load of Mr. Shortman’s hair.”

Following Blake’s gaze it’s all Charles can do to stifle a laugh. “Oh brother.” He whispers back to Blake, “dude, must have lost a bet or something to dye his hair THAT yellow.”

The hairs on the back of Arnold’s neck start to stand up as he gets the feeling that he’s being talked about. Looking up, he notices the two boys. “Blake, Charles, it’s good to see you, welcome to class.”

Having been caught checking Arnold out, the two boys stumble over their words as they make their way to two empty seats. “Uh, yeah, good to see you too, Mr. Shortman.” They say, almost in unison. 

It takes a few minutes for the rest of the students to finish filing into class and once the beginning bell rings, Arnold gets up to close the door. Walking up to the front of the class, he turns to see twenty pairs of eyes staring at his head. He thinks to himself “What have I got to lose?” and addresses the class. “Good morning, I’m Mr. Shortman and I’m going to be your teacher for the next six weeks. I look forward to getting to know each of you as time goes on. Oh, and no, this is not my natural hair color.”

An amused chuckle rises from the students as the tension of whether or not to mention his hair is broken. With the new, relaxed atmosphere Arnold figures that things just might turn out okay after all.

xxxxx

It was a long morning, and Arnold was glad that in summer the school days only went from 8 to 12. At least he had the whole afternoon free, and he really wanted nothing more than to be back at the boarding house with his wife and son. As he makes his way to his car he is stopped in his tracks at the sight of a pink and purple, ’68 Volkswagon Bus. As the classic car passes him he recognizes the bright blue hair of Ms Jackie Wright. Seeing Arnold, Jackie hangs her head out the window, yelling as she waves.

“See ya tomorrow Marco, I mean Arnold!”

Arnold stares wide eyed as he watches her drive away, the Dead Head bumper stickers and psychedelic peace signs that adorn the back end growing ever smaller as she goes. “Gerald was right.” He thinks to himself, “How on earth do I get myself into these messes.” 

Wondering how he’s going to break the news to Helga that Rabid Fangirl is now a member of the Hillwood High faculty, he takes the long way home. He hopes that during the extra time it will take to make it back to the boarding house he will come up with what to say.

Once back home he sits in the driveway for a moment before opening the garage door. He still doesn’t quite know how to approach the subject with Helga. Should he laugh it off as quite the coincidence, or should he express his theory of having been stalked? Deciding to go with the happy coincidence story, he pushes the button and watches as the garage door magically opens. 

Walking into the house, he finds it eerily quiet. All thought of Jackie Wright leaving his mind. He remembers yesterday and scene that met him when he walked upstairs. It was quiet that day too. Fearing the worst has happened once again, he quickly goes upstairs. He checks Phillip’s room first and is relieved to find him fast asleep in his crib. No gooey puddles or gut wrenching odors to greet him. Quietly backing out of the room, he closes the door behind him and heads to their bedroom next.

Walking into the room he sees Helga fast asleep. Her breathing is deep and steady, telling him that she must still be exhausted. He sits down next to her, gently brushing the back of his fingers against her cheek. Her eyes flutter open and she smiles when she sees who it is.

“Oh, Helga, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Oh, that’s okay.” She says through a yawn. “I was just resting my eyes. How did your first day of class go?”

“It went well. We had a good twenty kids show up, and it’s a really nice group. I think it’s going to be a good class. So, how about you? How were things around here?”

She speaks through another huge yawn. “Not as good I’m afraid. I think those antibiotics are messing with Phillip’s digestive system. He’s had three huge blowouts since this morning. I’ve had to change his crib sheets twice.”

“Oh, no wonder you still look exhausted. Well, you go back to sleep and I’ll take the baby monitor with me. If Phillip gets up I’ll tend to him.”

“Okay, thanks, Arnollll…..”

Before she can finish her sentence she’s once again fast asleep. Smiling down at her, Arnold places a tender kiss on the top of her head. Grabbing the baby monitor, he makes his way out of the room, all mention of Hillwood’s newest resident completely forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you that don’t know, the definition of a Dead Head in this case is a name given to fans of the American rock group The Grateful Dead. Look them up, you may like them.


	128. Chapter 128

Phillip sits in his highchair, looking at the strange object his mommy has placed on the tray in front of him. Thomas the Tank Engine’s bright face smiles up at him. He moves his gaze from Thomas to each of his parent’s faces, giving them a quizzical look. Turning back to the foreign object he notices the handles that stick out on either side of it. Grabbing the object by the handles he picks it up as his parents eagerly watch. He looks back to his mother, her smiling face prompting him to go further. Looking at the spout that sticks out of Thomas’s head, he brings it to his mouth for further investigation. 

Giving the object a slight tilt, his eyes grow wide when his mouth is suddenly filled with milk. He pulls the sippy cup out of his mouth and gives his parents a wet smile as the milk runs down his chin and onto the bib that covers his chest. Kicking his feet, he returns the cup to his mouth, repeating the process.

Grabbing a napkin, Helga gives a little chuckle as she wipes Phillip’s chin. “You’re supposed to swallow the milk, Philly Boy.”

Phillip answers her with a gurgled “Da!” before holding the cup out towards her.

Taking the cup from her son, Helga holds it back up to his lips, encouraging him to try again. “Here ya go, Phillip, take another sip for mommy.”

Kicking his feet, Phillip obliges by placing his lips on the cup’s spout. His mouth once again fills with milk when his mother gives the cup another tilt. Giving a reflex swallow, a small cough escapes the boy as most of the milk makes its way down his throat. Placing the cup back on his tray, Arnold and Helga sit back, waiting to see what their son does next.

Talking to the cup in his classic, Phillip gibberish, the boy lifts the smiling Thomas back to his mouth, this time taking a sip on his own accord. With a cheer and a proud “Atta boy Phillip” Arnold quickly uses his phone to snap a picture, forever cementing the moment in family history. 

Helga can’t help but to sigh as yet another milestone is reached, marking off the passing of time. “Wow, first it was crawling, and now it’s drinking from a big boy cup. I tell ya, Arnold, time is passing by way too fast. Next thing you know he’ll be walking.”

“I know, Helga, but what can you do about it? You can’t stop him from growing up.”

“I know, Arnoldo, I just wish it didn’t happen so fast.” Deciding a change of topic was necessary before she became too melancholy over her son’s aging, she veers the conversation towards Arnold’s class. “So, you ready for week two of your summer class?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You never did say how last week went. Did the kids ever stop kidding you about your hair?”

“Actually, they did, especially when they found out the only reason I colored it was because of the convention. Apparently there’s a few ardent cosplayers at the school. They said it was pretty cool to have a teacher that was into cosplay.”

“See, I told you! Did you happen to tell them that it wasn’t your idea to color your hair, or that you complained for days about it?”

“Heck no, and lose my status as ‘the cool teacher’?”

“Heh, now you’ll have a whole new set of girl’s going all gaga over you. Are you prepared to handle such attention? You know, you may just pass up Geraldo as far as hunkiest teacher at Hillwood High goes.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that, he’s still got me beat as far as the muscle and athletics department goes.”

“That’s true, you’re more of the nerdy, teddy bear type of hunk.”

Arnold gives her a small scowl. “How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not a nerd.”

She gets up, kissing the top of his head as she collects their breakfast dishes. “Riiiight, you think what you want, I still love you either way.”

Following her to the sink, he comes up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Good, I count on that love to get me through the day.” He gives her a playful bite on her neck, followed by a quick kiss. “Now, I’d better get going before I’m late for week two. I’ll see you this afternoon. I love you.”

She gives him a quick “Love you too” as she walks back over to Phillip’s highchair. 

Looking down at the boy, she’s noticed that he’s somehow managed to remove the lid from his sippy cup and is now slapping his hands into the puddle of milk that has flooded his tray. “Criminy,” she says to her smiling son, “how on earth did you manage that?”

“With a mischievous smile, and a chin covered in milk, Phillip’s only response is a happy, “Dat!”

xxxxx

There’s a few minutes before the first bell and Arnold takes advantage of the empty teacher’s lounge, enjoying a moment of solitude. It’s not long though before his quiet time is interrupted by the opening of the staff room door. 

Looking up, the first thing he notices is the still blue hair that sits atop of Jackie’s head. He does his best to return the smile that she gives him as she plops down next to him on the small couch.

“Hey Mar – uh – Arnold, how’s it going?”

Not really wanting to engage in conversation, but too polite to blow her off, he gives her a small smile. “Kind of early to tell for sure, but so far so good.”

“That’s great! How was your weekend?”

Wanting to remind her that’s he’s a married man, without being too obvious, he decides to bring Helga into the conversation. “Well, our son is just getting over having strep throat, so Helga and I laid pretty low and just stuck around the house.”

Jackie gives Arnold a quizzical look. “Helga? Of course!” She says with a snap of her fingers. “Shortman, I KNEW I recognized that name. Is your wife THE Helga Shortman of Arlo’s Adventures fame?”

Surprised that she would know anything about kid’s books, Arnold gives her a confused “Yeah, it is. You know the series?”

“Of course I do, my nephew is crazy about it. Hey, do you know when they’re going to start merchandising the series? I’d really love a stuffed Arlo for my van.”

“Oh, well, uh, Helga’s in touch with her editor all the time, and there’s never been any talks of stuffed Arlo’s, but if it ever does happen I’ll let you know.”

“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, do you think your wife would mind autographing a few copies of her books for me? I can bring you the books tomorrow.”

Arnold raises an eyebrow at her. “I thought you said it was your nephew that was the fan.”

Jackie gives an embarrassed chuckle. “Oh, uh, hehe, yeah, well, I’m kind of a fan too. I got hooked on the cute characters after buying my nephew his first couple of books.”

“Umm, okay, in that case I’m sure she’d be happy to sign a book or two for you. Just bring them in and I’ll make sure to get them to her.”

Giving Arnold a slap on his back, Jackie hops up and heads for the door. “Thanks, Arnold. I’ll bring them in tomorrow.”

He watches the door as it closes behind her. He still hasn’t told Helga about the fact that Rabid Fangirl is the school’s newest teacher. Knowing her, she’d probably just laugh it off, but he’s still not 100% sure of Jackie’s motives and thinks it best to hold onto his secret a little longer. 

Looking at the clock on the wall, he gathers up his stuff and makes his way to class. He sees Charles and Blake a few paces ahead of him, and listens to them as they banter back and forth. He smiles at how they sound more like brothers now than rivals. 

One thing that has been bothering him, though, is Blake’s total lack of interest in his class. He knows that the boy is only taking it in order to make up for lost credits, but he had hoped to spark at least a little bit of interest in the guy. He decides to make a greater effort to reach out to the boy, so he quickens his pace in order to catch up to him before he has a chance to enter the classroom.

“Say, uh, Blake, could you hold up a bit?”

Stopping at the mention of his name, Blake turns around to see Arnold walking up to him. He gives Charles a confused look only to receive a shrug of shoulders in reply. Turning back to Arnold, he responds hesitantly. “Um, yeah, sure.”

Not wanting to be dragged into the conversation, Charles quickly ducks inside the classroom. “I’ll, uh, see ya in class, Hadley.”

“Yeah, see ya.” Blake replies, doing little to hide his annoyance at being abandoned to face Arnold alone. Turning back to Arnold, he fidgets a bit as he wonders what his teacher could want. “Did I, uh, do something wrong, Mr. Shortman?”

“Oh, uh, no, its nothing like that. I was just wondering if you might have a few minutes after class today. I’d like to talk to you.”

Blake brings a hand up to rub the back of his neck. Nothing good has ever come from any “talks” when it comes to grown-ups and him, and a sour feeling starts to develop in his stomach. “Oh, uh, well, I guess if it’s okay with Charles I can spare a little time before having to head over to the hospital. You see, I’ve lost my license and he’s been kinda getting me to and from school and work.”

Arnold wasn’t aware of Blake’s situation, and the news comes as a surprise to him. “Oh, I see, I didn’t know that. Well, it shouldn’t take too long.”

“Um, okay, yeah well then I’m sure it will be okay.”

“Wonderful.” Arnold says through a smile before entering the classroom, leaving Blake to trail behind while wondering just what the hell he’s done wrong now.

xxxxx

The next four hours went by quickly as the students sat and listened to the first of Arnold’s guest speakers. He had elicited the help of Sheena, who came in to talk about pursuing jobs in the field of medicine, and he was happy to find that she had a real ease when it came to addressing the kids. The biggest thing to catch his eye, though, was how interested Blake was with what she had to say. When it came time for Sheena to take questions, his was the first hand to go up. Something that Arnold found in contrast to what he knew, or thought he knew, of Blake.

He had first met Blake’s father about a year ago at the high school’s open house. Arnold had introduced himself as the school’s counselor only to be dismissed by the man. He was told that Blake comes from a long line of prestigious lawyers, and that his son would be soon following in the family tradition. At the time it seemed to Arnold that Blake was okay with this declaration and eager to embark on a career in law. But now he was not so sure just how much say in the matter Blake had. He makes sure to keep this in mind when he talks to him.

By the time Sheena had finished answering all of the student’s questions, there were only a mere fifteen minutes left of class. After having said good-bye to his guest, he decided to give the kids a break and release class on the early side.

With the room now empty of all students but Blake, Arnold walks up and, turning the desk that’s in front of him around so he can face the boy, takes a seat. He figures that Blake must be wondering what this is all about, so he jumps right into the heart of the matter. “I couldn’t help but notice how interested you were in what our guest had to say.”

Blake nervously fidgets in his desk. “Yeah, well, uh, no one was raising their hand at first, and I just wanted to break the ice is all.” 

Arnold doesn’t believe him. “Is that so? For a moment it looked like you were really interested.”

Blake gives him a dismissive look. “Why would I care about what she had to say? It’s not like I have plans on being a doctor or anything.”

“No, no I know your family wants you to pursue a career in law.”

Blake refrains from looking at Arnold’s eyes as he speaks. “That’s right, that’s what they want.”

“But tell me, is that what YOU want?”

Blake’s head snaps forward now as he looks into Arnold’s eyes. “What?”

“I asked you if that’s what you want. Do you want to be a lawyer like your dad and brother?”

“Heh, it doesn’t matter what I want, I’m a Hadley, and Hadley’s are lawyers. Always have been, and always will be.”

“That doesn’t answer my question. What do YOU want?” Arnold waits for an answer, and when it doesn’t come he tries again. “Come on, Blake, I can tell just by looking at you that you have no interest in a career in law. Tell me this, if you could have any job you wanted after college, what would it be? And you can’t say lawyer.”

Blake takes a moment before answering, unsure if Arnold is the right person in which to share one of his deepest thoughts. Figuring the guy won’t be happy until he’s uncovered the truth, he relents and gives Arnold what he wants. “If I tell you, you’d better not laugh.”

“Blake, I’m a guidance counselor, I’m here to help my students, not make fun of them.”

Blake takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly before continuing. “Well, I – what I’d really like to do after college is work with special needs kids. You know, sort of as like a sports therapist or something.”

Blake’s response totally catches Arnold off guard. He was expecting something more along the lines of star quarterback than special needs therapist. His confusion shows on his face when Blake looks at him and chuckles.

“Didn’t expect that, did you?”

“N-no, actually, I didn’t. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, as a matter of fact I think that’s a very noble profession. But can I ask, why?”

“Well, it all started a couple of years ago when my dad bought us all tickets to the Seattle Special Olympics. It was for some fundraiser he got suckered into attending. I didn’t want to go but he said it was a family event and that we all had no choice but to attend. When I first got there I felt pretty out of place, you know. I was afraid of saying the wrong thing and insulting someone, or embarrassing my dad. So I pretty much kept to myself.”

“I guess I can understand that, it was a foreign situation for you. I can imaging you were uncomfortable.”

“Heh, you could say that again. I guess I never saw people with disabilities as being able to do things like the rest of us, but to sit and watch them compete, I – I had no idea. Something came over me that day, it opened my eyes to a whole world far from anything I’ve ever known. 

“And the kids, the looks on their faces as they competed, I swear, they shone with pure happiness. Regardless of whether they won or lost, they were there for each other. That kind of comradery, it’s practically non-existent in the teams I’ve played on.”

Arnold sits back in his desk, watching Blake’s face as he talks with a passion that Arnold has never seen from the boy before. Not wanting to interrupt, he lets him continue.

“At the end of the day I was talking with some of the kids at a dinner reception. I just – I don’t know, I felt a connection with them. I knew right then where my passions lie, it’s with these kids. I want to help them be the best that they can be. I want to draw out their potential and make them the athletes that they’re destined to be. I – I just want to help.”

The room is silent for a moment as Arnold lets his brain absorb all that Blake’s had to say. He looks at the boy that sits across from him with new eyes and a new respect. He tries to think of something to say but is momentarily speechless. It’s Blake that finally breaks the silence.

“I know it must sound pretty dumb. I mean, who am I kidding? My dad would never go for that and I doubt I’d ever come up with the money on my own to pay for all the schooling it would take.” He looks at Arnold now with defeat in his eyes. “So why even bother, that’s just how it is. So if I come across as disinterested in your class, or in what you and your guest speakers have to say, that’s why.”

Arnold slowly shakes his head at the boy, his look turning from dumbfounded to one of determination. “No, no that’s not how it has to be. You can go to your father, tell him exactly what you said to me.”

“It won’t work, he won’t listen, and without his support, and his money, I’m stuck. There’s nothing I can do.”

“No, don’t play the money card, Blake. There’s scholarships. You’re a bright boy. If you put in half the effort to apply yourself that you do in trying to protect your reputation you can bring up your grades enough to apply for one of the academic scholarships, there’s still enough time. Plus you have your athletic abilities. You already know you have what it takes for an athletic scholarship. There’s also grants and loans. Hell, that’s how I made it through college, on grants and loans.”

“And I bet you’re still in debt over it up to your eyeballs, right?”

“Well, yeah, we’re still paying off a couple of the loans, but that’s just temporary. They’ll be paid off soon enough, then it will all have been worth it.” Arnold places his hands on Blake’s desk, leaning down to look him in his eyes. “Have faith in yourself, Blake. You can do this if it’s what you really want. Don’t talk yourself out of it, there are no excuses.”

Blake can feel the tears as they threaten to well up in his eyes. Damned if he’ll let anyone see him cry, he quickly jumps out of his seat and heads towards the door. “I gotta go, Charles is waiting for me. I – I’ll think about it, but I’m not making any promises. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay, that’s all I ask is that you give it some thought.” Arnold says while watching Blake disappear through the doorway.


End file.
